Yavneh defeated Commerce Public High School 53-44 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 15-7.
A patient Yavneh team used a second quarter scoring fest to put away an athletic public school far away from home Tuesday. Most encouraging was that the game and the big run featured two Bulldog start scorers once again. Combining for 25 points, Jordan Prescott and Elan Kogutt answered Commerce at every bell and also got a bunch of help from their friends.
The game started as ugly as this three game losing streak had been at times. 6 first quarter turnovers and a critical couple of missed layups left Yavneh looking for scoring answers with no points three plus minutes in. Prescott made two nice passes to account for most of the nine opening period points. Kogutt converted the first with a nifty reverse side lay-in and Junior Ben Romaner finished the other. Both teams shot 37% and struggled to a 9-9 tie.
The second period was, however, like an entirely different game. Almost as if a light bulb had gone off between quarters, the Bulldogs were protecting the ball, being patient, and turning Commerce’s athleticism into kryptonitic poisonous cocktail. On four straight possessions, Kogutt, Prescott, Freshman Adam Karnett, and then Junior Kevin Sulski deliberately hammered their ways to the basket and finished after waiting for the flying Commerce Tigers to fly by. It was really as if this Northeast Texas city had never before seen the shot fake. On this night and during this 10-2 run the Bulldogs were just smarter. Capping the run was a Jake Greif Superman tip-in that electrified the crowd and the benches. Greif followed that up by finding Sulski for a floating shot off the window well after all the Commerce, Texas banks had closed down to catch the game. Finally, Prescott connected on a dagger triple to allow the Bulldogs to skip into the locker room with a 32-20 halftime lead. The 23-11 second period came courtesy of zero turnovers compared with the six from the opening stanza. Yavneh had bolstered their shooting percentage to 54% and put an offensively challenged Tiger squad in a precarious position down by 12.
The turnovers returned for the third period but neither team could make a significant run. Commerce hoisted missed shot after missed shot and the Bulldogs obliged by allowing most of 18 offensive rebounds in the final 16 minutes. The game threatened to become close on a couple of occasions but a gorgeous reverse layup by Sophomore Josh Lynn and an immediate Kogutt to Prescott transition finish pumped back the score to 40-26. The offensive rebounds continued to mount as the lead dwindled in the fourth quarter. 48-40 was as close as the game would get though. Kogutt threw a quasi-alleyoop to Freshman Itai Guttman who graciously flipped one in from straightaway. On the next possession the Bulldogs applied the ice with a Prescott to Greif lefty scoop shot. The passing was on the money all night long with 16 assists on 22 made field goals. The bigs played great on offense (7/9 combined) but struggled in the defensive box out category once again.
Prescott once again led all scorers with 14 points but it was Kogutt who burst onto the scene once again with a strong 11 point, 12 rebound performance that was most encouraging. The two stars also combined for 10 of the assists. Freshmen Adam Karnett and Itai Guttman combined for 14 points. Karnett had three more patented steals (one for a layup) and Guttman was crafty on the inside on a number of occasions. Yavneh (15-7) gets another crack at Oakridge in one week’s time. The time will be wisely spent preparing to stop the best individual player the Bulldogs have seen this year. Oakridge, who started the now extinct Yavneh three game losing streak may not be ready for the patient, deliberate, and smart Yavneh squad that has shown up for the last 5 periods of play.
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
MWJR? 3-9