Yavneh defeated The Covenant School of Dallas 57-44 Saturday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an indefectible 19-0 (2-0).
Once upon a time Jori Epstein of the Dallas Morning News wrote an award-winning piece that popularized the LBJ Freeway rivalry between Yavneh and Covenant. That rivalry, much like the highway, has been under major construction ever since Steve Levine miraculously drew a foul at half-court in the final moments of a 2016 game and calmly buried three free throws for the win. Since that moment, the Bulldogs have reeled off 5 wins in a row versus the Knights (239-165 on the scoreboard) including a comfortable but not majestic 13 point win Saturday. Covenant started this game strong and truly believed they were in control nearly 2 minutes into the game with a 4-0 lead. Truth be told the first 4 minutes of the game were played at a snail’s pace to the delight of the Knights. Junior Ofek Reef finally put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard in a sequence where he played volleyball at the rim before finally scoring on a fourth opportunity. Reef was just beginning yet another double-double night, this one extremely rebound heavy. He also recorded a big block early, took a charge, and drilled the corner three ball that officially welcomed Yavneh to the game with 4:04 to play in the opening stanza. In addition to Reef’s energy, the game really changed on a series of unnecessary fouls by reigning District 3 co-rookie of the year Graham Hill. His trio of fouls in a 65 second span gifted Pierce Bell three free throws and the first Yavneh lead at 8-6. Bell’s steal subsequently awoke Griffin Levine Sr from a twilight nap for 8 quick points on a transition layup, a triple from the left wing, and an AND ONE courtesy of a Reef steal. The Big Three combo of Reef, Levine, and Bell scored all 18 first period points. When Hill had to exit the game, the turnovers started and led to almost all of the Bulldog points. The second quarter was where Yavneh really started to separate. Levine hit co-captain Micah Romaner for a baby hook finish and then notched two more field goals of his own for a 24-10 advantage. It was not just the 9 turnovers to that point which were so key to the Bulldog explosion on this night. It was also the countless other times that the Knights just seemed rushed, passing up wide open players at the basket for hail mary flings at the basket and out of control charging fouls on multiple occasions. Levine’s dart to Reef through the entire Covenant defense was easy money at the rim and a 6-2 deficit had turned into a 29-10 rout. That 27-4 run for the Red-and-Black followed the blueprint that has worked so well the last two season against this team. All-state guard Brian Davis struggled mightily, shooting 1/11 from downtown and also committing three fouls in the first half. The 33-14 halftime lead for Yavneh was despite just a 2% advantage in field goal shooting. While the teams combined to insult the three point line to the tune of 2/19, it was every other facet of the game that the Bulldogs enjoyed a decided edge. 12 free throw attempts to 0, 22-9 rebounding including 12-1 on the offensive glass, and 13-3 in the turnover battle made it impossible for Covenant to realistically compete in this game.
Covenant was certainly not built to overcome 20-point margins and this Yavneh team is one of the toughest to come back on because they simply do not stop scoring. Jonah Eber’s poke away led to a Bell/Levine connection and Romaner followed with a huge put-back for a 37-14 lead. That 4-0 beginning to the second half essentially ended the basketball game. The game would stagnate for the Bulldogs mostly due to a horrendous night at the free throw line but the lead would stay at or near 20 points for the entirety of the third period. Romaner set up Reef for a Scoopfek finish through the high post and around the defense. Eber was a huge steadying force in the third period with a nice drive to the rack and a helper to Bell for a finish with contact for three more points. Levine, Reef, and Bell were in and out of the lineup for most of the second half due to foul trouble, health and other technicalities. The bench, however, made a play every time the Knights had anything resembling a run working. Eli Minsky secured an enormous rebound at 48-30 which really thwarted the last legitimate stand. Covenant did engineer a 10-0 stretch over a three minute time frame late in the fourth quarter but Eber found Mason Schwaber for a power finesse finish to stem the tide. Minsky and Tyler C Winton grabbed key rebounds and connected on 4 free throws in the final 80 seconds to officially put the game on ice. Ofek Reef led all scorers with a man-sized double-double of 18 points/17 rebounds. The 17 boards were good for 6th highest in school history in a single game. Griffin Levine added 17 points to go along with 5 steals and 4 assists as he is now #3 all-time in helpers for the Bulldogs. Pierce Bell and Micah Romaner combined for 14 more points on just 7 total shots and went 6/7 from the free throw line on a night that the rest of the team shot only 9/21 from that same charity spot. Also of note, the combined 3/33 three point shooting from both teams was absolutely horrendous. Any number more than 1/21 for the Knights probably would have been helpful to their cause.
Yavneh (19-0) has started their quest for another district title and return to State with a pair of decisive wins but another stiff road test awaits them on Tuesday. Dallas Lutheran is also 2-0 thus far in district play and this battle of undefeated teams will leave one team at least a game behind in the early going. A top tiered matchup every night is just the way it goes in the powerhouse that is TAPPS 3A District 3.
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR