Coram Deo defeated Yavneh 46-43 Thursday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 14-10.
This time it was going to be different. The thorough domination by a big and talented Coram Deo squad nearly a year ago would surely yield different results this time around. Despite a smaller and considerably less explosive team, Coram Deo survived a poor Bulldog effort to win again…this time at the very end. It was the first time all year that Yavneh clearly had a game within its grasp only to let it slip away. This was the type of game the Bulldogs conquered at such clutch moments just last spring during the Sarachek Tournament in New York. Now, will they have to re-evaluate their metamorphosis into the team that they have become or was this just a hiccup in their evolution? For a fourth straight game, Yavneh’s offense was on display in the opening quarter. After falling behind just like in last season’s loss to Coram Deo, Senior Sam Pulitzer caught early fire again. A 7-2 CD lead was quickly 13-7 the other way as Pulitzer delivered 7 big first quarter points. The 17-9 Yavneh lead after that first quarter was also in large part due to the strong play of the Bulldog bench. Sophomore William Zalstein rocketed off the bench to deliver a game-high 7 assists and a rare three point field goal attempt that also managed to find the bottom of the net for 3 points. The game was most likely lost in the second quarter as Coram Deo opened with a 10-1 run to claim the lead at 19-17. A complete absence of offensive execution from Yavneh led to the worst quarter since Covenant last season. The Bulldogs would score just 3 points in the entire second quarter and trailed 21-20 at the half. 12 Yavneh first half turnovers did them no favors either. Again, an explosive Pulitzer start left him with just a 1 point second quarter. In a contest of whom would click at the offensive end first to open the second half, Yavneh lost again. 5 minutes into that second half saw the Bulldogs tally only one bucket, making the Coram Deo run 19-5 over a stretch of almost 13 minutes of game time. With the game slipping away, Junior Erez Krengel responded with a pair of free throws and a big three pointer. However, it was fellow Junior Bradley Alhadef that hit almost every big three pointer on this night. His first of three tied things at 30-30 late in the third quarter, receiving the ball from a tumbling Krengel. Another gave Yavneh the lead and the momentum at 33-32 as the third quarter ticked away. While Yavneh’s bench combination of Butch Shawel and William Zalstein were able to push the ball up the floor, the starting unit was never able to get to the pace the Bulldogs were looking to play at. After falling behind again, Alhadef hit his third three for the lead at 37-36. But Coram Deo’s three point shooting kept them on top in a seesaw final quarter. With the Bulldogs trailing 40-36, Pulitzer notched a lay up and Krengel made two free throws to tie the game. The stalemate was broken on a Krengel three ball off a feed from Pulitzer with 1:58 left. Yavneh got the ensuing stop they needed but the first of two critical turnovers followed by the first of two late, late game Coram Deo three-point plays knotted things at 43-43 with 1:03 remaining. The first of those three point plays was most disheartening as it encompassed all of Yavneh’s weaknesses in one sequence: Lack of offensive execution, critical turnover, multiple opposition offensive rebounds, basket and foul. The second turnover was followed by another three point play. Pulitzer, similar to Krengel earlier in the game, did not get the benefit of a very close charge/block call that could have gone either way but nevertheless resulted in the go-ahead points at 46-43. The Bulldogs still had a chance but Krengel uncharacteristically missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. Given another chance on an offensive rebound, Yavneh called timeout. Alhadef missed one final three point attempt with 7 seconds left on a well-designed play using Krengel as a decoy. Krengel led all scorers with 15, while Alhadef and Pulitzer followed with 11 and 10 points respectively. Outside gunners DL Brake and Marcus Dingler produced 14 and 12 points each for Coram Deo. Junior Michael San Soucie followed his excellent Tuesday game with a nice 8 rebound effort for the Bulldogs.
Yavneh (14-10) will play HSAA Tuesday night in a rematch of the hotly contested game from last week. With only 4 games remaining for the season, the HSAA re-match starts a tough week for the Bulldogs. They will conclude the week by hosting Arlington’s Oakridge School, who features sensational Sophomore Chris Babb.