Yavneh defeated defending TAPPS 2A champions Cambridge School of Dallas 72-42 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a flawless 3-0.
Noah Rubinstein and Jonathan Ochstein missed only a trio of field goals each in combining for 30 points, give-aways were at a season-low 10, and Yavneh once again overcame a lackluster first 16 minutes to bury another inter-league opponent Tuesday. For the second straight home game, the crowd was delighted by turnovers from each side to start the contest. On this night, however, the carelessness for the home team would heavily subside. Sophomore Micah Romaner created the first points by dishing a pass to Rubinstein that clearly set off an early alarm clock for a nice finish in traffic. Once again great energy from Senior captain Jonathan Ochstein to set the tone was apparent when he swooped into the baseline boundary to save a rebound to Romaner. The Bulldogs, however, once again were cold from the field to start and if it was a shot behind the three point line they would only see one go in on 11 attempts all night long. Trailing 5-3 Yavneh mounted a mini rally of 6-0. Each Levine (Griffin then Steve) recorded a steal and immediately deposited an assist in the hands of Ochstein for 4 of the 6 points. The continued inefficiency at the defensive end, however, would allow for no further separation. Cambridge feasted on wide open triple alleys and second chance points for a quick 7-0 response. Although the Bulldogs would answer with an Ochstein to Rubinstein three point play, another 6-0 spurt by Cambridge to end the period made the run 13-3 in total for a 6-point lead. The visitors would extend to an 8 point advantage before Steve Levine lasered a pass to Junior Liad Guttman to temporarily stop the bleeding. That was the momentum play needed to ignite an 8-0 game-tying explosion. Guttman followed with a steal and a basket, and the run was capped moments later on a sequence where Steve Levine blocked a shot that he then rebounded and found Rubinstein for the tying jump shot. The lead came not too much later with a common denominator that has been in nearly every Bulldog run so far this young season: A Levine forced turnover leading to a basket. This time it was both connecting as Griffin found Steve in transition. Yavneh was starting to find themselves offensively but defensively they would not allow themselves to pull away. Rubinstein finished a nice sweeping drive and Junior Zach Epstein took advantage of a great inbounds pass from Ochstein to record his first points of the season but Cambridge continued to get open look after open look. It finally looked as if the world was right when Griffin Levine used a Cambridge player’s back side to assist Rubinstein for a 28-25 lead but a fourth Cambridge three ball quickly tied the score. Yavneh maintained a 31-28 halftime lead (their biggest of the game) behind a timely baseline jump shot from Sophomore Pierce Bell. Shooting % were almost identical but the Bulldogs should and could have have had a much bigger lead off an 11-4 turnover advantage if not for allowing 4 three pointers on 5 attempts vs the 0/7 they shot themselves. Rubinstein led all scorers with 14 points on 5/7 shooting.
Cambridge immediately responded with 4 points to begin the third quarter to retake the lead by a point. The Bulldogs were in need of another second half energy boost and the 23-5 run that ensued sent shock waves through the Cambridge community. Ochstein slivered a pass to Rubinstein to retake the lead at 33-32 but it was Steve Levine that took over the next 150 seconds to break the game open. A pair of steals led to his own floater and then a breakaway to the basket where Cambridge could do nothing except maul him at the basket for an intentional foul. He knocked both free throws down and capitalized on the extra possession with an inbounds assist to Rubinstein for 6 straight points. Ochstein joined Steve Levine moments later for some on-court gymnastics in forcing another turnover after a 9.7 back flip. Griffin Levine forced the 16th Cambridge turnover which led to the first 8 point lead of the night at 43-35 with 4:03 to play in the third period. It was at this point in the run that Cambridge started to just simply wear down and the Yavneh depth started to really take its toll. The first double digit lead came on a Steve Levine to Ochstein nifty reverse layup and then Ochstein finished a great alleyoop lay-in from a pinpoint Guttman setup. Guttman followed with a period ending assist to Senior Sammy Weyser in the corner for the lone three pointer of the game for the Bulldogs. However, that was good enough for a now 17 point lead at 54-37. Cambridge looked defeated and could not keep up with the pace of the game at all in the second half. The last thing they wanted to see were a somewhat fresh group of reserves looking to match what others had done in the third period. Pierce Bell connected on another mid-range shot and then made a great move in the paint for another basket. Weyser provided a ton of energy and value added rebounding himself. His steal/assist to Steve Levine notched the first 20+ point lead of the night but the possession Weyser had moments later summarized the second half for Cambridge. He recorded 3 offensive rebounds from 3 different errant shooters, the last of which led to a Zach Epstein baseline rocket drive to the basket for a 64-39 edge. Epstein would a couple more transition layups and Senior Jacob Lampert capped the night with an air-assist from the corner to Bell for the tap-in that notched the 72nd point and a 30 point overall margin. That is now 239 points in just (3) games or just shy of 80 points per contest for a Bulldog team that continues to force turnovers (26) and score in bunches off of them. Noah Rubinstein was wide awake in leading all scorers with 20 points on very efficient 8/11 shooting. Jonathan Ochstein added 10 points as he continues a great start to the season. Steve Levine once again was involved in all the big runs with 9 points, 7 assists, and 7 steals. Also of note, Pierce Bell and Zach Epstein added 8 points each.
Yavneh (3-0) goes back up to the 4A TAPPS level when they face Dallas Shelton Thursday night. Shelton has traditionally been a team that is very athletic and loves to get up and down the court which probably means another high octane game is on the horizon as the Bulldogs move through non-district play. With only now two remaining injured players, this team is getting closer to full strength and if they can figure a couple things out defensively for a consistent stretch during games could move to even another level.
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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