Yavneh defeated Toronto’s CHAT 47-42 Friday afternoon in the semifinals of The 3rd Annual David A. Yaffee Memorial Basketball Tournament. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 21-5.
So often in a tournament setting, the #1 vs. #2 final matchup that is so anticipated fails to come to fruition. That will not be the case this year in Houston, where JV Elite national #1 HANC and #2 Yavneh will meet Sunday at 12:30pm. “Scintillating Senior” David Naxon scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to carry Yavneh into the tournament final for the very first time. Make no mistake, however, the game was an absolute war. The Bulldogs started quick, popping out to a 4-0 lead as Naxon exchanged with fellow Senior Brad Alhadef for the opening buckets. CHAT would control the rest of the opening period to the tune of 10-7 though. By controlling the boards, the thinner Cougars were able to pound Yavneh. 17 offensive rebounds is just too many extra possesions in a tight game. CHAT grabbed their biggest lead at 15-9 but Naxon and the Yavneh press got going after that. A 6-0 run tied the game, and in that second quarter Naxon started to take over the game. He was all over the interior and even more so on the offensive glass. The first of his buzzer beaters came to end the half off a nice pass from Senior Erez Krengel. The 15-4 Bulldog run to end the half provided a 24-19 halftime lead. While rebounding was still in favor of CHAT, Naxon’s 13 points and Alhadef’s perfect 3/3 half (7 pts) carried the day. CHAT star Cory Caplan recorded 11 of his 22 points in the half. The third quarter would be a period of runs with Yavneh’s 7 point lead disappearing and then re-appearing to stake them to a 36-29 advantage heading to the fourth. The runs that the Bulldogs had were fueled by Krengel and Junior William Zalstein’s 8 combined assists and of course more Naxon. His third quarter included a two-handed “successful” slam dunk and another buzzer beater…this time a three pointer. Yavneh seemed to have everything under control at 40-31 with under 5 minutes remaining, but Caplan would not let CHAT go away. Two successive three pointers shot them right back into the game and it was immediately clear that this would be a fight to the finish. With only 2:12 remaining, Krengel grabbed an enormous rebound and took the contact but made only a single free throw. CHAT’s Josh Cohn hit both of his free chances and now the lead was a single point at 41-40. Krengel followed with a gorgeous floater and it appeared things were sealed when Naxon got the defensive stop. However, his missed front end of a 1-and-1 free throw chance followed by a Caplan reverse layup at the other end put the lead at 1 again. Only 50 seconds remained when Alhadef stormed up the court, into the lane, and found an open Freshman Elan Kogutt at his favorite baseline spot. Most freshmen in a one-point game with the season and Yavneh’s first ever chance at a potential top Sarachek seed on the line would have pulled the ball out. Not Elan Kogutt…His no doubter of a baseline jumper pushed the lead back out to a full possession at 45-42. The last 27 seconds included some CHAT desperation misses and two sealing Naxon free throws. The calm demeanor under pressure at key times gave the Bulldogs the look of a team on the cusp of winning a major tournament. However, demeanor is one thing and beating the deeper, bigger, and highly touted Hebrew Academy of Norfolk County (HANC) on Sunday is an entirely different animal. It is a major opportunity for both schools to show where they stand as YU’s Sarachek Tournament gets closer and closer. Game-time Sunday is 12:30pm. Also of note is the absence of Senior Post Michael San Soucie, who is still nursing a strain. He has missed two consecutive games and his status for Sunday is still unknown.