Yavneh defeated The Dallas Lutheran School 77-52 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 23-3 (8-0).
Thursday was NOT Senior Night but it might as well have been for the Yavneh Bulldogs. The Bulldogs shook off an underwhelming performance at Lakehill Thursday with a solid first quarter and used every Senior on their current active roster to shake off some late cobwebs and still notch a stellar victory. Mason Schwaber and Jonah Eber combined for 43 points/20 field goals on only 4 missed shots, Tyler Winton buried four first half triples, and the return of Mr Fourth Quarter Reece Parker’s late antics of 5 points for the ages sealed the victory. This team looked for all the world like a group that wanted to atone for their less than character victory on Tuesday when they stormed out of the gate for 7 points in 75 seconds to begin this contest. Schwaber pumped in a quick second-chance basket and Ben Rael’s heist found Jason Prager on the escape. Prager added an assist moments later as Tyler C Winton notched his first of 7 steals and received the pass back for a straight-away triple. Those 7 points came as fast as an opening drive touchdown. Winton added to the theme mere seconds after that with a nice rebound and out-route touchdown pass to Eber for his first basket of the game. Rael connected with Winton for a second three pointer and Eber stole/scored as the lead swelled to 14-3. The energy was full tilt for the Bulldogs while both teams were tossing the ball back to their opponents with extreme regularity. Yavneh matched their turnover count of 20 from the first meeting with a careless encore performance amidst some really great high-paced offense in this game. Eber was spectacular with some of his finishing in this game and used a personal 4-0 run off another steal for a score and a great feed from Hillel Baynash for an electrifying right-hand finish. Meanwhile, Prager rifled a pass to Schwaber for an AND-ONE finish that looked all too easy from the Lutheran perspective. The Senior post was un-guardable at the rim as he went 11/12 from the field and finished through any mild contact that might have come his way. While Eber’s pass allowed Baynash to put on a jump-stop clinic for the younger kids in attendance nearing the end of the opening period of play, it was the Lions who stole some momentum with a banking buzzer three pointer from the great Judson Simank. A 22-8 advantage for the home team came courtesy of sizzling 71% shooting and 8 forced turnovers (but also 6 themselves). Junior Tom Oster pick-pocketed a Lions ball handler, leading to a great Avery Levy inbounds pass for the third Winton TW3 and a 25-9 margin. Oster broke a personal and team free throw drought with a connection and Winton lent a helping hand for another Schwaber three-point play at the basket. The Lions, however, were beginning to gain some traction with outside proficiency and used an 8-4 spurt to trim the lead. Of all people, Jason Prager knew when and where to spot the hot shooter and this was absolutely a McBuckets half for the memory banks. Winton was unconscious in this first half, connecting on a fourth trifecta in 6 attempts. While Prager was not splashing himself on this night with his brother, he cleverly followed one of his shots for a solid put-back, combining with his great passing to secure the 36-18 halftime lead for Yavneh. 16 forced turnovers and the 12 points from Winton had this game under control…at least through 16 minutes of play.
The Bulldogs did not seem to play with the same energy in the third period, particularly on the defensive end. Prager finished on a nice drive to the basket and Elisha Klein fed the sealing Schwaber for a finish nearly on top of the basket. But tiny Garrett Dunsworth caught fire from way outside and put on a show, leading to a 17-point scoring quarter for the Lions. The Yavneh lead would be cut to 14 points at 41-27 before Eber rebounded and darted to the rim full-court for one twisting finish. Another slick baseline finish for the Senior came courtesy of a Levy dish for a 50-32 lead. It was moments before a 17-17 third period expired, however, that the closer on this night seemed to virtually shed his warmups and enter the limelight for an absolute show. Oster’s nice feed to ONE Reece Maxwell Parker for a strong finish at the basket sent the Bulldogs to the final period with a 53-35 advantage. For Parker, however, the night was just kicking into high gear. An uneasy feeling came over the SRC as the Lutheran crowd took over the stands in decibel level and drum beats on the heels of a 4-0 explosion by their team in this final period. With the score 53-39, a panic had set in and at the very least the starting unit would have to rev it up full force to put away this game. A game that seemed to be sailing to the 20+ margin land now threatened to become a war similar to the Lakehill times of Tuesday. That all changed in a flash as Parker reprised his role of Mr Fourth Quarter. With the bullpen scurrying, Ben used his 3D Rael vision to spot Parker in the corner for a majestic three point melody that never seemed to have any other destination than the bottom of the net. Before Lutheran knew what happened, Parker was stealing the subsequent possession back with a charge take that, ironically, took an extra moment for the referees to confirm. While they took their time to get it right, the patience of Parker for his moment in this game was well worth it. Lutheran would battle to within 56-43 and 6:13 to play but Parker was simply too much. His pair of free throws immediately pumped the lead right back to 15 points and reinforcements from his classmates/fellow Quad-Captains were on the way. Winton found Schwaber in transition for an AND-NONE finish, generated by a steal from who else….Reece Parker. The final wave energy from Winton, Eber, and Schwaber blitzed a Lion team who was still very much reeling from the law firm of Parker, Parker, and more Parker. Schwaber tallied two more buckets off an Eber look-away pass and a Winton seeing-eye laser beam for a 68-47 edge that seemed to be the final daggers in this one. If there was any doubt, Noah Ohayon ended that with a mammoth man-sized offensive rebound put-back that seemed to be a message to the referee crew that had no appreciation for his textbook box out techniques. Mason Schwaber’s 23 points came on 11/12 shooting with 6 rebounds while Jonah Eber’s 20 points carried 5 assists, also 6 rebounds, and 9/12 shooting. Tyler Winton rode the wave of 4/6 three point shooting to 12 points in addition to 7 steals, 5 assists, and continued the theme of Seniors with 6 rebounds. Reece Parker’s legendary performance netted him 8 points on flawless shooting from the field and 3/4 free throw shooting, Tour de Force territory for this team currently. Jason Prager added 7 points as well in the victory.
Yavneh (23-3) almost unbelievably has just four regular season games remaining in this season. District play has flown by but this team continues to roll on with win after win as they continue to play through peaks and valleys in their development preparing for the second season to come. The next week will bring two challenges as a trip to an always tough venue at Irving The Highlands and the highly anticipated rematch with Lakehill await.
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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