Yavneh defeated Dallas Lutheran 64-24 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 26-4 (6-0).
Yavneh finally and ever-so anti-climatically got an elusive 10th straight win Tuesday and ran their District 4 record to a cool 6-0. With its season-high winning streak, the Bulldogs have now also decreased their magic number to 3 for a share of the district title. This one was a wire to wire domination as Yavneh was stealing passes seemingly from the pre-game warm-ups and anthems. Steals on the first three defensive possessions led to a 9-0 advantage before most of the fans had even found their seats. The Steinbrechers, in the starting lineup together for the very first time, connected for an Adam to David triple. Keeping things all in the family, the Guttman brothers would set a world record over the next several minutes for most three-point plays (with the foul/free throw) by a family in the same high school basketball 8-minute quarter. First, Sam Kleinman found Itai Guttman at the basket for an and-one finish. Moments later, Ori Guttman did the same off a nice feed by Noah Weiss. Ori did it one more time following an Adam Steinbrecher triple all part of a one-sided 24-6 first period of play. The most amazing part of the whole thing might possibly be the fact that all three free throws were successful to complete the feat. The Bulldogs shot 69% in the opening stanza and got a total of 5 steals off of 6 turnovers. Ori Guttman and Noah Weiss hooked up once again on a remarkable play to begin the second period. The two players combined for a steal that led to Guttman assisting Weiss on a full-court transition finish. Shocking to some and throwback to others that have been watching Weiss play for years, all the excitement marked the first 20 point lead at 26-6. As Yavneh bench players started to roll in the game of all shapes and sizes, Lutheran looked more eager to take the less than 3 mile drive home than get back on defense. Sophomore Jonathan Ochstein found a determined-to-shoot Junior Grant Prengler for a smooth three ball and Junior Lee Gelsky took yet another big charge moments after stepping onto the court. In a connection of the two little men, Jason Epstein found David Steinbrecher for a moon shot that added three points to the lead and secured a slight 32-10 halftime lead. The Bulldogs forced 12 turnovers, most for points, and truly controlled the game in all facets.
In a week filled with sudden appearances from regular players to start the second half, Seniors David Rudomin and Adam Schor finally cracked the scoring column to begin the third period. Sophomore Steve Levine took a break from fouling long enough to grab three rebounds in a hurry and a big to big Guttman/Schor play established a 42-13 edge. Rudomin once again was running all over an opponent and easily broke any remaining spirit within Lutheran. With the game already well in hand, Ori Guttman’s block/rebound/assist to Rudomin in transition to barely beat the third quarter buzzer made the score 49-20 and a Weiss to Ochstein connection to begin the fourth period finally did make the game a 30 point difference. No matter who the home team inserted on this night they were scoring. Prengler volume shot another late triple and Levine torpedoed around an Adam Steinbrecher moving screen to the basket for 58-22. One more Prengler bomb crossed the 60 point mark for the second consecutive night. 13 Bulldog players scored led by David Rudomin and Grant Prengler (tied career high) with 9 points. Ori Guttman added 8 points to go along with snagging 6 of the team’s 22 steals. Rebounding was another huge edge as Jonathan Ochstein grabbed 6, Noah Weiss 4 plus 3 artistic assists, and Adam Steinbrecher 5 to go along with his 4 assists in a sold starting performance.
Yavneh (26-4) has to head back out on the road Thursday to play a district game at Mc Kinney Christian. The first meeting was another game in which the Bulldogs let a big lead slip away late and in turn made the contest look closer than it actually was. Regardless, Mc Kinney Christian is coming off one of their biggest wins in school history over First Baptist and should have a full house awaiting their visitors.
The Kennel Report, now in its tenth season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack
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