Yavneh defeated The Cambridge School of Dallas 65-34 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 4-2.
The brief 2-game skid for Yavneh ended in abrupt fashion Tuesday with a shellacking of 2015 TAPPS 2A State Champion Cambridge. If you are in love with the turnover, this was absolutely your game of choice. 52 total turnovers in the game were dizzying but the Bulldogs forced 36 of them which was essentially THE story of the game. In fact, Cambridge gave the ball away 5 times in the opening 3 minutes of play to stake Yavneh to a 4-0 advantage. Senior tri-captain Zach Epstein picked off a pass for a touchdown and the group in general was more free-flowing than they had been in either of the two previous road defeats. An inspired Daniel Chernikov followed his own missed layup to extend the early lead to 6-1 but the evil offensive rebound returned for a 4 point Cambridge answer. Griffin Levine, who had a monster game just 24 hours earlier, was at it again with an early rack attack off a feed from Epstein. Moments later Levine drained a triple to continue his torrid offensive streak but the first quarter separation came courtesy of super-sub Pierce Bell. A steal for a layup and a long corner jump shot pushed the first period lead to 15-5 but the final 5 points of the opening stanza belonged to the home team. The Bulldogs forced a modest 12 turnovers but managed to get out-shot by 13% somehow. Levine immediately restored an 8-point lead with a contorting three point play finish off the glass and Noah Rubinstein found Chernikov over the top to once again lead by 10 points. Levine’s offense was once again free flowing as it has been in now 3 of the 5 games this season, finding driving lanes at will and knowing exactly the right time to knock down open jumpers. Senior Liad Guttman broke the game open with maybe the most action packed 13.6 seconds in the history of sports. Inexplicably, Guttman was able to record 3 steals, a pair of assists, and even earn a trip to the free throw line all in a frenetic 13 seconds that sent Cambridge a message that this game was over. Freshman Jonah Eber fed Rubinstein for a buzzer beating trot to the rim and a 32-18 halftime lead. Both teams shot 41% in the opening 16 minutes but the Bulldogs 23 forced turnovers were a major factor while about the only thing the Lions had in their corner was 5 Bulldogs missed free throws.
Score-wise Cambridge stayed within 13 points early in the third period but the beginning of the end came on an Eber to Rubinstein repeat hookup in transition. Levine then created an easy bounce pass look for Chernikov to extend the lead to 16 points. Cambridge just continued to turn the ball over at breakneck speed. Whether it was Pierce Bell lunging for an errant pass and finding Levine for a transition layup or Chernikov’s floor burn diving steal to force Turnover # 29 on the night, Cambridge was feeding Bulldog players more efficiently than the top of the line basketball shooting gun. The 21st Yavneh steal of the still young night was a Chernikov to Levine layup drill for a 40-20 margin. Rubinstein assisted Bell on a full court sprint and Levine used every centimeter of the rim to bottom a third period buzzer beating foul line jumper for 48-25. The biggest issue the Bulldogs had was that 7 of their 8 active players were mired in serious foul trouble. No matter who they put on the court and when, however, they were stealing basketballs from a charitable Lions contingency. There would be no need to play any games of roshambo to decide this contest as the track meet just continued on a steep hill nose diving towards the Bulldog basket. The turnovers continued as Guttman picked off another pass and fed Chernikov creatively in the paint. The most encouraging sign of the night may very well have been the gains made in the three point shooting department. The Double E shooting combo came through with a trio of triples including the first back to back long distance knockdowns of the year. Eber actually assisted Epstein on the first hit and Epstein was borderline unconscious with another deep strike merely seconds later. The fans may not have gotten a barn-burner of a game but they were treated to the first Triipp Special of the year with Rubinstein gliding into, out of, and across the high post area on a slide that the judges gave all 10’s on this night. Griffin Levine led all scorers with 23 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals while Daniel Chernikov chipped in 13 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Pierce Bell’s 12 points and 5 steals were a huge factor in several scoring runs and the Eber/Epstein combination went for 13 points all told with the three triples. Also of note, Noah Rubinstein collected a team-high 8 rebounds to lead the charge on rebounding from a horrendous team rebounding performance Monday and also notched 5 assists with of course 4 steals.
Yavneh (4-2) closed out their three-game road swing with a strong effort and will no doubt be happy to once again enjoy the comforts of home. They will have plenty of time to get acclimated before they play in the Bulldogs time honored tradition of Thanksgiving week against 5A DISD public schools Thomas Jefferson and Sunset Monday and Tuesday. With the offense having turned a wide corner the last pair of nights and the other parts of their game seemingly coming around, this group is building momentum ahead of their tournament run in Baltimore just 14 days in the future.
The Kennel Report, now in its 13th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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