Yavneh defeated Dallas Lutheran School 62-42 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an unmitigated 26-0 (9-0).
Yavneh began their most hectic week of the district season with a very ordinary wire to wire victory over Dallas Lutheran, overcoming a second choppy game with a team probably destined for third place in District 3. Lutheran has done a better job disrupting the Bulldog pace than any other team in the last two seasons but has yet to figure out how to put any actual scoreboard pressure on the games. Once again this time around the Lions roar would be tempered by an awful start, making it next to impossible for Lutheran to pose a believable threat. Yavneh stormed out to a 10-0 lead behind some great passing from Junior transfer Ofek Reef. Assists to a driving Jonah Eber and Pierce Bell twice as well as a second chance three-point play had Reef rolling early. Air Eber did not even need the rim in a trip to the free throw line while tallying the 10th point in a strong start to the game. The first period was actually the second-best quarter offensively against Lutheran in either game with 22 points on the board. A barrage of late three pointers accounted for 9 of the final 11 points courtesy of a Sam Schultz corner triple followed by two connections from Bell. The Senior swingman was locked in all night long, connecting on a deep corner trifecta. Eber, who was extremely active on this night, stole a basketball and attacked the rack for two points. The period ended with Bell both ringing and beating a bell of a different kind with a timely wing three-point line drive just as time expired. A 22-10 edge after one period of play was extended with a key Bulldog 11-3 spurt keyed by defensive pressure. Schultz’s steal found Tyler C Winton in transition during a key sequence when the lead was just 10 points. Griffin Levine Sr followed with back to back assists, the first to Bell who continued his excellent game. The second assist was a look-what-I-found gift wrapped bullet to a sneakily wide open Micah Romaner in the paint. The dish came only after a three-quarter court patented Levine dribbling show complete with the full complement of huffing breathing exercises along the way. The run was capped with a Levine drive to the basket for a 33-15 advantage. The Lions ended the first half on a 5-0 run but Yavneh still maintained a 33-20 edge at the break. This was your typical ugly game against Lutheran with both teams under 50% shooting and a combined 5/11 free throws to boot. The most shocking statistic may well have been a paltry +3 turnover differential for the Bulldogs who normally see a double-digit advantage in that metric.
Lutheran had the pace right where they wanted it most of the night but could not creep closer than 10 points at any time after the initial 10-0 deficit. 33-22 was as close as the game got in the second half. The game came to a crawl in the opening minutes of the third period before the run of the night put the game away for Yavneh. Eber rifled a pass to Bell at the rim for a 37-22 lead. Winton was contracted to be CPO (Chief Pickpocket Officer) on two straight possessions as he craftily pilfered one basketball complete with a toss-ahead for an Ofek Reef slam dunk. Another Winton deflection went through Bell for a Schultz layup to bring the game to 43-24. One final dagger towards the end of the third period saw the Winton-Schultz combo connect once more for the second Schultz three ball of the evening. The lead had reached 20+ points and there would be no miracle Lutheran magic act to make this margin up. Bell’s 20th point of the night came on an easy steal for two points to begin the final stanza. The Lions would keep the game respectable with some late offense but the Bulldogs had an answer every time any momentum was built. And those answers were loud like Reef’s high-flying tip follow for a 52-35 lead. Eber’s fingerprints were everywhere on this game and a pair of assists to THE Zach Bernstein put Lutheran officially out of their misery for the night. A deadly high arching wing trifecta put the burn back in BURNstein and Eber’s lead pass to the same character resulted in a layup with 90% of the Junior’s body literally out of bounds. Important game finishing rebounds by the combo of Eli Minsky and Mason Schwaber (5 in total) closed out the game and reduced the Bulldog magic number to just 2 combined Yavneh wins and Highlands losses. Pierce Bell led all scorers with 20 points on 9/12 shooting. Ofek Reef added 14 points with 8 rebounds and Sam Schultz exploded for 9 points. Jonah Eber led the charge with 6 steals and combined with Tyler Winton and Micah Romaner to notch 13 steals, many during the two key runs. Griffin Levine led another Bulldog passing clinic with 5 assists of the team’s 18 on 24 field goals.
Yavneh (26-0) now can wrap up the district title outright as soon as Tuesday but will likely and fittingly have to wait until the huge matchup at Highlands Thursday to have that opportunity. Before that game, however, is a dangerous trap game deep in the heart of Lakehill Texas USA. No seats are expected to remain unused in the most anticipated home game for Lakehill in over 10 years Tuesday as they look to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Shooting issues were the downfall of the Warriors in the first meeting but they figure to shoot much better in the friendly confines of their own house.
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR