Yavneh defeated The Canterbury School of Desoto 86-63 Saturday night. The win swings the Bulldogs record to 3-2.
James Naismith could have splurged for a much nicer peach basket had he known that the Yavneh Boys basketball needed only 19 feet of real estate to dispatch Canterbury. Ofek Reef, Mason Schwaber, and Jonah Eber led a furious 74 points in the paint dismantling Saturday evening. While any type of outside shooting continued to be a virtual House of Horrors for the Bulldogs, the defensive pressure, size, and power of this Yavneh team was beyond anything the Cougars bargained for. Eber fed Reef for a jump hook in the lane to begin the contest, a play that fittingly included a basket in the painted area and subsequent missed free throw. Eber tallied his first two transition finishes off a pair of Schwaber steals and Reef added a coast to coast finish for an 8-2 Bulldog start. The size was too much for Canterbury from the opening bell, and while the fouls did not seem to add insult to injury given Yavneh could not make free throws once again, easy basket after easy basket was being registered. Senior Captain Zach Bernstein could not be more pleased with his team’s shooting woes as he feasted on opportunistic rebounds and facilitated second chance buckets for much of the opening stanza. Tyler C Winton recorded the steal that set up Bernstein’s finish for a 14-4 double-digit advantage. The formula was simple: Reef and Schwaber’s domination in the paint, Eber for a change of pace drive to the basket, and then Bernstein swooping in from the weak side. Reef’s first slam dunk of the night (5th in the last two games) was the third AND NONE basket of the first period alone. The free throw epidemic was so ridiculous even Canterbury got caught up in the moment, failing to anticipate the flying errant basketballs on multiple occasions. Freshman Ben Rael notched his first basket of the night by sneakily collecting the eighth Bulldog missed free throw already for two points and a 28-13 edge. The Cougars could not get a stop and turned the ball over 12 times but scored just about every time they got an actual shot off. With both teams shooting 60+% from the field, the game seemed like a track meet and Yavneh was firmly in control by a score of 32-13. Schwaber made two more baskets at the rim, one off a great fake-and-go and the other off yet another Winton theft. Schwaber threw a nifty touch pass to Reef for flush #2 of the night as the lead had reached the 20+ plateau. Turnover after turnover yielded points for Yavneh with Winton gliding to the rim for an easy finish and more points. The Bulldogs were absolutely killing it at the basket while maintaining an unforeseen rate of air balls from distance. All 7 three point shots in the first half missed the mark with 3 of them being fortunate enough to graze iron. In fact, Zander Feinstein’s air assist Sophomore connection to Elisha Klein for a power finish high below the rim epitomized everything that was so right about this chuck and follow attack that had Canterbury gasping for air. A more traditional assist for Feinstein included a bone crushing collision screen to free Reef for the drive to the basket that opened up 44-20. Klein beat the first half buzzer with a flip shot off a nice feed from Reef and a 46-25 lead at the break. Whether the horrendous outside shooting was a help, hindrance, or a little of both, the Bulldogs forced 15 first half turnovers and got 32 points from Reef/Schwaber inside and that was the story of how Canterbury was staked to a deficit they could not even dream of recovering from.
The teams traded turnovers to begin the second half but like the back half of an uneven boxing match, the body blows being dished out by Reef and Schwaber were taking a serious toll on the visitors. The Bulldogs barely had to work for their points and they got 29 more shots which made the situation all the more devastating. Eber used a stop-and-go move at the rim to double up Canterbury 50-25 and then started to take over the game with his change of pace. A nice drive and dish set up Schwaber for another point blank finish. In case you have not seen this movie enough times, yes there was a missed free throw on the tail end of that finish and yes the Bulldogs scored two more points off of it. There was so much energy for the Red-and-Black and so little resistance from Canterbury as the game progressed in the second half. The final tally of 34 forced turnovers made it impossible for Canterbury to gain any traction at all…ever. Reef gave the Cougars a ball fake in which they were running four different directions back to Desoto on one occasion. Winton then used an electric 50 seconds to pick up a steal, and assist, and a signature rejection from close to the ceiling. Bernstein added a tip-in but maybe THE sight for sore eyes came moments later when someone on the rOster finally connected on a three pointer. Two cat-like steals and that huge wing triple to lift the weight of the world off the entire Bulldog Three Point Nation made Sophomore Tom Oster the hero of the moment in so many ways. Truth be told, this game would have gotten way out of hand had it not been for a lackluster defensive effort by Yavneh in the second half and 25 fouls that paraded the Cougars to the free throw line, an area they did not seem to have as much trouble with. The teams continued to trade baskets for much of the final 11 minutes. Eber had a great sequence with a full-court rumble jog to the hoop followed by a charge taken at the other end. He also scored at the conclusion of Feinstein’s multi-offensive rebound series in which it was finally easier to pass to Eber for two points than playing catch off the rim all alone. It was as if Reef and Schwaber had worn the defense down over the course of the game, and Eber was the closer on this night as he slashed his way to a ginormous fourth quarter. Feinstein and Rael both had steal/assists to Eber and Reece Parker also connected on two field goals late. All 10 active players scored for the Bulldogs on this highest scoring effort of the season to date. Ofek Reef’s double-double of 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists was the second straight stat stuffer game for the versatile superstar that has carried this team through the first 5 games. Mason Schwaber seems to have a new career game every night with 20 points and Jonah Eber added 16 of his own. Zach Bernstein played his most complete game of the year with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists while Tyler Winton’s 7 steals and 5 assists once again provided energy and opportunity for the front court to shine.
Yavneh (3-2) displayed the true inside proficiency for the first time that is destined to be their calling card when all is said and done this season. The game just seemed easier and more natural than at any time this season so far. The defensive lapses and shooting woes almost provide even more optimism for what this team could be given the success they had despite some of that on this night. It will be interesting to see what this energetic 2-game momentum carries on the road at Cambridge in the first of back-to-back games and the completion of a 4 games in 6 nights run through Tuesday.
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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