Yavneh defeated The Covenant School of Dallas 75-61 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an untainted 25-0 (8-0).
The Bulldogs have found nearly every way to win a basketball game in 2017-18. Just 48 hours after winning a tightly uncontested 2-0 forfeit over Cristo Rey, Yavneh was back at it winning their sixth straight contest against Cross-Street “rival” Covenant. In past meetings, the Knights major issue had been the ineffectiveness of their stud duo Brian Davis and Daniel Magnuson. On this night, however, the Bulldogs simply outscored that dynamic duo who finally played well and combined for 51 points. In a game that definitely had moments that seemed like a shootout, Yavneh blitzed Covenant right from the start. A 14-0 showcase right off the opening tip squashed the Knights pipe dreams of a district title that now will need permutations of impossible proportions. Ofek Reef’s tip follow and reverse layup started the scoring, Pierce Bell’s two baskets off a pair of steals from himself and Jonah Eber, and a 106 second stretch to start the game strictly on the Yavneh offensive side of the court surged the home team to a 10-0 lead. 4 more Bulldog points would be scored before Covenant produced any offense of their own. Griffin Levine Sr’s fancy dancing pass to Micah Romaner for a strong finish wowed the capacity crowd and extended the lead to 16-2. Levine followed with a slick baseline drive and the Bulldogs led 23-8 after one period of play. Deadly live ball turnovers early in this game put Covenant well behind while Reef set the early tone with 10 points/7 rebounds to start. The Knights did manage to reel off 6 of the first 8 points in the second period behind Magnuson’s stellar performance. Tyler C Winton found Levine for a rainbow triple to end the mini-run. In fact, Levine drilled two from long range in a row followed by a Sam Schultz corner triple connection for a trio of triples all consecutively. That marksmanship coupled with two first half charge takes by Bell fueled an 14-4 Yavneh response. Winton’s wing trifecta pushed the advantage back to 39-20 and sent the Bulldogs to a 41-23 halftime lead. The home team held a 19% field goal shooting edge, a +6 on the boards, forced 10 critical turnovers, and everyone in The Big Three scoring.
The lead would continue to grow at the outset of the third period behind maybe the best passing game of Levine’s illustrious career. A dish to Reef for an AND NONE, a no-look gem to Bell for an easy finish, and a helper on one of Jonah Eber’s two layups early in the quarter made the score 53-29. In the previous meeting, no one could hit a shot in the cavernous confines of the Carson Leslie Center down the street. In this game, though, three pointers were falling at breakneck speed. During one stretch in the third period, Levine and Winton for Yavneh connected on two trifectas while Davis and Magnuson did the same for Covenant to make it four straight overall. Both teams feasted offensively while the defenses took a half off. The issue for the Bulldogs was that as Davis and Magnuson found a groove the lead began to melt away. A 16-6 Covenant explosion trimmed a 24-point margin to 14 points at 59-45 early in the final stanza. As has become commonplace, however, Yavneh had the answer to that spurt. Pierce Bell’s multi-rebound possession led to a Mason Schwaber bucket only to be punctuated with the ensuing Ofek Reef steal and dunk for a 63-45 lead. The teams would trade baskets for much of the remainder of this contest. Bell found Reef for a nice change of direction finish and another dime from Levine on the inbounds to Eli Minsky countered two Davis baskets for the Knights. The Covenant leaders absolutely came through with the game Davis and Magnuson had been yearning for ever since they were small toddlers in the Covenant system. Yavneh, however, matched nearly every basket and never allowed a legitimate threat to their well-being in this basketball game. Schultz’s timely steal and subsequent Levine three ball was the last momentum basket needed to keep the Knights at bay while the finishing blow came on a Schwaber feed to Eber for a stutter-step lefty scoop that sent the visiting fans scurrying for the two exit doors. The lead never fell below the 14-point final margin of victory. Ofek Reef led the way with another double-double of 24 points/10 rebounds on 12/14 shooting to go along with 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocked shots. Griffin Levine also double-doubled his favorite opponent with 17 points/11 assists. The 11 helpers were good for fourth most all-time in a single game for the Bulldogs. Pierce Bell also notched double-figures with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Super Soph guard tandem of Jonah Eber and Tyler Winton split 12 more points down the middle and also combined for 7 assists.
Yavneh (25-0) is not just in the driver seat for an outright District 3 title but now sees the finish line clearly through the windshield. With a virtual magic number of 3 and at least two games against teams who have yet to win against anyone in the Top 4 of the district, the Bulldogs could very well wrap this title up by mid-week. The upcoming week, however, will be a busy one with three games on the schedule. In a rematch of one of the uglier games of the season to date, Lutheran will come to the SRC seeking revenge for a contest that they feel should have had a different result. Will the Bulldogs be crisp at home and make Lutheran play at a pace they despise? Can Yavneh get one step closer to being outright district champs for the first time since 2014 and the very first time in a district with 7 teams? Will this incredible run of perfection extend through the regular season’s second to last week?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR