Yavneh defeated Dallas Academy 58-41 Thursday evening. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 5-4.
This time was going to be different. Dallas Academy took their winless record against Yavneh into the SRC Thursday night with much promise and a lot of height. Sophomore Elan Kogutt’s 29 points would have none of it. His Bulldogs ran the bigger Bulldogs from across town way too much for their liking. Fatigue overcame a Dallas Academy squad that boasted two very talented posts, one of which could also shoot from the outside. Yavneh fell behind 5-2 before Kogutt got it rolling early. The 9-2 run that ensued included a pair of early three pointers by feisty Junior captain Josh Karnett, one of which boomeranged off the backboard and in. The first quarter was a competitive 14-12 in Yavneh’s favor, featuring high energy and poor shooting. While DA would control the boards early, Yavneh methodically got back into the rebounding fight. Turnovers were another big story. At least in the first half, Yavneh took advantage of taking care of the ball (just 3 to’s) while turning over DA. Starting guard tandem William Zalstein and Miles Pulitzer led the charge in a second quarter 8-0 run with two assists each. Dallas Academy failed to score for over four minutes to start that second quarter. Freshman Jake Greif took two big charges in securing a 30-17 halftime lead. Yavneh got faster and applied more pressure in the second half with a strong guard rotation that really tired DA. Zalstein’s hustle essentially put the game away during a sequence in which he dove after a DA player, was able to snatch the ball away, and then started a break that ended with a Kogutt layup. Turnovers were a small price to pay for the increased pace of the game. Even though Yavneh handed over the ball 10 times in that period, the lead ballooned to 20 points. DA got into the foul bonus alarmingly early but missed 9 of their 12 free throw attempts. Those proved costly as they lead to even more empty possessions. Between Kogutt and Freshman Jordan Prescott, the home Bulldogs got plenty of offense to take them home. Prescott missed all six of his three point field goals but nailed 7 of his other 11 shots for 14 solid points. Kogutt led all scorers for his eighth straight game this season thus far. Yavneh took a season-high 5 charges. YHS proved that they could win a game by pushing the ball just like they have won some slower paced, defensive games. There is no time, however, to celebrate.
Yavneh (5-4) is in Garland, TX early Friday morning for a match up with Panama (OK) High School. The teams have never met but the Bulldogs look to win a second straight game against teams from states other than Texas dating back to March. It will also be Yavneh’s last game of 2008. How will the Bulldogs react to a quick overnight turnaround against an unfamiliar and dangerous opponent?
The Kennel Report, now in its fifth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M