Yavneh defeated The Canterbury Episcopal School of Desoto 79-49 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a still unblemished 4-0.
Ofek Reef recorded his second double-double of the season Thursday as Yavneh, lethargic at times, somewhat careless, and unwilling to grab a rebound most of the night, barely managed to keep their 30+ point margin of victory streak alive. For a fourth straight game the Bulldogs stormed out of the gate with a killer instinct that buried an opponent. On this night, TAPPS 1A State semifinalist Canterbury was on the menu and were greeted by Reef scoring 7 of Yavneh’s first 8 points. A lefty finish at the rim , a trio of free throws, and then a runout layup got the Junior transfer off and rolling. Jonah Eber and Pierce Bell had key steals in a 12-0 run that came after the score was tied 3-3. Canterbury, like every opponent to this point, was unable to deal with the multi-look defensive pressure the Bulldogs threw on them in the early going. An early timeout could only temporarily halt a string of 13 turnovers by the visitors in the first period alone. The first quarter ended with a 25-8 spread, courtesy of 11 points from Reef, a +12 turnover differential, and 6 points from both Griffin Levine Sr and Pierce Bell. It has been the second period where the Bulldogs have lost their edge and did they ever do that in this contest. Reef extended the lead to 29-8 on a pair of second chance baskets but there would only be 2 points scored by the home team over the next 4+ minutes. With the large lead Yavneh clearly lost their edge, playing sluggish basketball and portraying any form of boxing out to be on the TSA list of prohibited items. A 13-4 spurt by Canterbury trimmed the lead to just 10 points at 31-21 late in the first half. For 4+ minutes the only excitement for the Bulldogs came in the form of an Eli Minsky rejection that sent shock waves throughout Red Nation. With the lead in jeopardy, Eber sliced to the basket for a leaping finish at the rim off a Reef bone-crushing screen. Zach Bernstein may have recorded the most significant basket of the game as he rolled in a basketball from the baseline with the margin hanging at 10 points. Eber then found classmate Mason Schwaber diving to the rim for the 35th and final first half points. Once again a tale of two periods, Yavneh forced only one turnover versus the 13 in the opening stanza, actually lost that second period by 5 points, and missed all five of its three pointers as well as four free throws.
Levine was essentially missing in action during the first half but started to pick it up in the third period. Three driving finishes by the all-world Senior captain point guard extraordinaire extended the lead to 16 points at 50-34. Micah Romaner scored on a big tip-follow and then assisted Levine for a key triple to push the lead back over 20 points. The energy was back for the Bulldogs as they finished the third quarter on a 19-6 run. Bell and Minsky were flying all over the court in taking all the momentum back from Canterbury. Twisting drives by Bell carved up the Canterbury defense as his team separated in the final stanza. The game was not as much in doubt at any point as it felt that this team was a step slow to what it has been in the previous trio of games. Two consecutive Sam Schultz pinpoint assists to Minsky produced the first 30 point lead on the night as well as sending the crowd into a frenzy. The exclamation point of the season came moments later as Reef threw down his first official slam dunk of the year on a breakaway self-created from a steal. At that point Canterbury may very well have been finished but the Bulldogs were finishing strong. Schwaber continued his exquisite passing with a crafty helper to Bernstein late in the final period. Tyler Winton set Eber up for a lefty right side finish as the glowing passing display continued to shine down the stretch. Canterbury feasted on the glass during the last 6 minutes, collecting many of their 19 offensive rebounds during this stretch. Ofek Reef left the near capacity crowd wanting MO-fek as he led all scorers and rebounders with a 26 point/10 rebound double-double to go along with his rim rocking throw down. Griffin Levine scored 20 points and dished 5 assists in a soft whisper of a game that was the model of efficiency with 7/12 field goal shooting. Pierce Bell also finished in double figures with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Yavneh (4-0) has the formula working of jumping opponents early, weathering the storm, and coasting home all predicated on their transition game and multiple defenses. Tuesday, however, brings a new challenge. Former TAPPS 3A and longtime rival McKinney Christian is next up and the Bulldogs are eager to deliver some payback to their neighbors from the north. The Mustangs have knocked off Yavneh in three of the last four meetings including a district tie-break game and last year’s non-conference shellacking at their place by 17 points. Can the Red-and-Black continue to dominate TAPPS opponents of all levels in non-conference play? Can they send a message to McKinney Christian their temporary success in this rivalry is in the past? Can they remain unbeaten heading to the week of Thanksgiving?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR