Yavneh defeated The Dallas Lutheran School 76-47 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 19-5 (6-0).
Yavneh hit the halfway mark of District play Tuesday with a duo of emphatic runs for the ages to sink Lutheran. Beginning the game with an 11-0 turned 24-2 start and finishing the game with an even more impressive 21-0 explosion after their lead was cut to 55-47 with 5:16 to play, the Bulldogs prevailed for a fifth straight game away from home. The end of a brutal stretch on the road was no match for an inspired team that for a second consecutive game began with urgency. Junior Jonah Eber was masterful, specifically in the opening 80 seconds in which his paw prints were all over this game. A finish in the lane courtesy of a nice pass from classmate Tyler C Winton, an offensive rebound assist to another classmate Mason Schwaber, and another assist off his own steal to Ofek Reef showcased the unswerving Eber early and often. Schwaber notched a second-chance AND-ONE and Winton’s steal found Schwaber at the basket for 11-0. In just over two minutes, Yavneh was passing their way to another fantastic start and forcing yet another team to burn multiple timeouts on their home floor. Winton’s second steal found Eber again going to the basket for another two points but the shot heard around the world in this first period was yet to come. Zach Bernstein BN had yet to shoot six three pointers this season let alone make one but that would all change in one fleeting, shining moment in the storied Lutheran gym Tuesday. Eber’s out-of-bounds touch pass danced into Bernstein’s hands for a soft release from the corner that brought the sweet sound of birds chirping as it careened through the net from the baseline and a 16-2 advantage. Jonah Eber had made just about every play in the basketball handbook during the first quarter of this game before he added a falling down, backwards somersault flip assist to Schwaber that brought this game into the surreal zone at long last. Ofek Reef, whose number had barely been called early on in this game, had his best moments to come but fed a great pass to Bernstein for an AND-NONE finger roll that ignited another mini-run within the gigantic spurt that was most of the opening stanza. Bernstein was so incredible to start this game that even his missed free throw led to pandemonium as Winton jumped out of the gym to tip the rebound back to Bernstein for an assist to Eber all in one motion. In a related story, the score was 24-2 and Lutheran could only watch a 63% shooting Bulldog quarter behind 10 forced turnovers, Schwaber’s 13 points on 6/6 shooting, and an Eber majestic 6 point/4 rebound/5 assist performance. Reef began a secondary attack in the second period with a great finger roll finish for 28-8. Garrett Dunsworth connected from long distance on several occasions as an all-too predictable Bulldog letdown commenced as the game crawled towards halftime. Outside of an Eber rebound turned full-court pass to Senior Nachi Zucker for a textbook jump stop finish, the offense disappeared and a totally different game disappointed those fans making the long multi-mile trip to Lutheran for this contest. A 19-10 Lions spurt got them to within 34-21 at the break. Almost inexplicably, this team that started 24-2 somehow got doubled up in the second quarter 16-8 behind five turnovers in the period, a lack of maintaining control on the defensive glass, and a slew of wide open Lutheran three point looks.
The lead would shrink to as low as 34-23 before Reef had just about enough watching on this night. Struggling to find a true rhythm, the Senior who has done just about everything for this team but pack lunches and dinners for the long and treacherous bus rides, found himself without question in the second half. A nice baseline finish for 36-23 had nothing on his subsequent one-hand running start flush courtesy of an Eber steal/assist. The Eber assist show continued as he found Winton for a TW3 rainbow trifecta to build the margin back to 42-27. Schwaber finished again off the glass, in what quietly was his most efficient career game. He ran the floor like a cross-country showman and cashed in for opportunistic finish after opportunistic finish on this night. Other than the free throw line, Schwaber was nearly perfect. Known as the best passing big man in the Southwest, Schwaber found Winton off a second consecutive Bernstein theft. In addition to the offensive outbreak for the artist known to his vast fan club simply as The Pelican, his signature steals that have mostly earned him that distinction started to roll in. No one, however, could have predicted his ensuing blocked shot that set off sirens, caused damage to the interior of the Lutheran walls, and caused looks of terror in the eyebrows of Lions fans scurrying throughout the stands for cover from the stray particles of leather. The Pelican had indeed arrived and the lead restored, and would reach 20+ once again. Michael Jordan may have introduced the tongue-out acrobatic finishes in his short-lived career but Freshman Ben Rael has already taken over that distinction. His runner in the lane using that tongue as separation combined with a Reef steal for a TD pushed the edge back to 52-31, seemingly putting this game on ice heading to the final chapter. Joseph Nash, invisible for much of the game, sprung to life with 8 points for Lutheran in a hurry and 12 in the second half. His athleticism willed the home team back into competing in this game and another lackadaisical stretch for the Bulldogs gave hope to a team that really seemed to be finished so many times in this basketball game. Noah Ohayon, known recently for his textbook box out clinics, showed off his fundamentals again with a pump fake that landed an airplane on his back at one point to begin the fourth period. Shaquille Ohayon even connected on one of the resulting free throws, and sadly that point would be needed as Lutheran was gunning for the lead in a dramatic and shocking 16-5 stretch. The lead was 55-38 when Elisha Jaws Klein threw the slip pass of his young career to Eber but Dunsworth responded for the Lions with back to back treys. The Bulldogs had lost their mojo and with 5:16 to play their once insurmountable lead had dwindled to 8 measly points at 55-47. The roof was caving in, the fans as loud a decibel level as Stults Road had ever experienced with even the Great Dr Portnoy’s nearby abode trembling from the roof shingles, and the Lutheran Lions were knocking on the door. The only saving grace for the Red-and-Black was that the starters were rested. And Ofek Reef did not waste any time in delivering a Grade A response. A direct tip in off the glass instantly restored a double-digit advantage and two massive Eber defensive rebounds established order. Bernstein found Reef, Winton pick-pocketed a pass, and Reef followed another shot for 61-47, 6-0 in just 70 seconds. Spoiler Alert: Lutheran will not score again!! Reef’s steal and reverse layup finish with contact might have been the most ridiculous play of the night. He was pushed with full force towards a wall that magnetically was not a realistic stopping point. The AND-ONE finish pushed the run to 10-0 but it might have been 21-0 (which it eventually was) The Lions were spent and could not withstand the knockout blow of a combined 45-2 to begin and end this contest. Mo Zander-Feinstein thrilled the crowd with a spectacular saving pass on the sideline but it was his Air-Assist to Bernstein that capped the night for the Senior guard’s most explosive district tilt to date. Silent assassin rebounder Tom TO Oster devoured another pair of boards and put the finishing touches on this game with a splendid dish to Jaws Klein for a smooth finish at the rim. This roller-coaster game had concluded with the Bulldogs shining through, led by Ofek Reef with another Double-Double of 23 points/11 rebounds. Mason Schwaber put on a show with 20 points courtesy of 8/10 shooting, flying down the court with ease and finishing all night long. Jonah Eber had a busy night with 14 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Zach Bernstein and Tyler Winton combined for 12 more points, 9 assists, and eight of both rebounds and steals. Also of note, Junior bruiser Simcha Malina returned to the court with an active three rebound game.
Yavneh (19-5) has run through the first half of District 2 with a sparkling 6-0 record. The five straight road wins leave only a single tilt away from the SRC from now until the end of the regular season. They return to their home court Thursday for a rematch with a determined Covenant who played this team closer than any other opponent to this point in district play. In a scheduling anomaly, however, a first meeting with dangerous Lakehill is just five days away. That game could very well be a battle for first place if both teams win their next game. And that task is far from a sure thing with Covenant on deck, a team that has won in this building before. What will the next turn in this dramatic storybook season for the Yavneh Bulldogs???
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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