Yavneh defeated The Dallas Lutheran School 83-43 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 14-5 (1-0).
Ofek Reef’s Double-Double led four players in double-figures, Yavneh turned Lutheran over 23 times, and the run to a third straight TAPPS 3A State Final Four started in earnest Monday. Winning District 2 seemed anything but a reality for the Bulldogs when they trailed 3-0 a possession into the very first district game, but at their weakest moment of the night there would be a response. Six straight points, highlighted by free throws one per trip spring-boarded the home team to take a 6-3 lead. Mason Schwaber grabbed an offensive rebound to set up Reef and Jonah Eber threw a pinpoint lob pass to Reef as well during this initial spurt. It seemed as if the Bulldogs were off and running as Tyler C Winton notched a steal to Eber for a transition layup but those point blank looks would elude Yavneh for the next period of time. In fact, a string of 8 shots within the painted area missed the mark in a flurry of offensive rebounds and errant put-back attempts over three possessions. With an 8-5 advantage, Reef’s steal to Eber finally broke the string with a streaking finish at the rim. That oasis opened up a 9-0 run in a flash led by Reef’s trifecta off a nice pass from Winton and a slice to the rim. Freshman Ben Rael, making his first start, took a charge during the run off a Mack truck barreling down the lane. Schwaber’s big drop step finish along with another solid move just moments later capped the spurt and surged Yavneh to a 17-5 lead. Lutheran, who seemed on the edge of getting blown out in their very first district quarter of 2019, bounced back nicely with a 10-5 stretch to end the opening frame at 22-15. The game was a tale of Lutheran out-shooting the Bulldogs but a 9-1 turnover disadvantage more than made up for the 19% shooting advantage. Winton finished a twisting layup and Reef blocked a shot, rebounded it, and deposited said basketball in the opposite basket for a 30-15 lead. The Bulldogs were starting to pull away and using their depth in doing so. Schwaber found Senior Nachi Zucker for one of his signature mid-range jumpers from the baseline and Reef threw a seeing-eye laser dart pass through nearly every member of the Lutheran community for a Ben Rael finish at the basket. Tom Oster assisted Schwaber, who bodied up a Lutheran defender for another strong finish and a 15 point advantage. As the lead rumbled towards 20 points in still the first half of play, the confidence level offensively of this Yavneh team seemed to grow with each passing trip down the floor. Eber nearly connected on his first career four-point play as he buried a triple with contact. However, in a strange twist of multiple free throw lane violations, the scoring on that particular sequence was 25% off. Eber got that point back plus one on a great cross-court feed to nearly automatic marksman Noah Ohayon, who buried a three ball of his own. The lead had grown to 45-25 for halftime behind an 18 and 8 performance for Reef, a strong rebounding effort, and a +11 in the turnover war for Yavneh. Both teams seemed somewhat gassed from the long layoff of Winter Break but the Bulldogs just seemed to have more ammo than the Lions and it would only continue to provide separation in this contest.
Rael began the second half with an emphatic AND-ONE finish, absorbing heavy contact for a second time in this game. Eber assisted Winton for a galloping finish to begin a McBuckets 2019 breakout celebration of 8 straight points in a flash. Reef assisted on two straight TW3 for tres moon shots and a 58-27 edge for Yavneh. Schwaber created the 60th point on the night just moments later with a steal/assist to Reef as the Bulldogs were running away and hiding from a Lutheran team that could not compete in this second half. Junior Simcha Malina put on a show with a textbook jump hook finish and another post move spectacular off a great Oster setup. Reef continued to show off his passing skills with an assist to Ohayon at the rim and a subsequent steal. That steal created an opportunity for Reef to rim rock a two-handed monster jam, finally giving the Senior sensation a slam dunk on what felt like 27 attempts on the evening. The second half was purely an exhibition for the Bulldogs and, unlike times in the first part of the season known as 2018, there was no late let-up to end the game on a less than momentous note. On this night, the entire team played until the final buzzer and as a result got themselves a clean 40-point victory in their first district game of 2019. Reece Parker did not, however, disappoint his fans that pay good money to see Mr Fourth Quarter perform. A coast to coast finish rewarded all of them with a wink to the crowd on the way back down the court. Elisha Klein grabbed two rebounds and dished an assist in the closing minutes of this game to cap the wire to wire effort for the Red-and-Black. Ofek Reef led all scorers with a 24 point/12 rebound effort with 7 assists as well. Jonah Eber added a nice 12 point, 7 assist, and 6 rebound performance while Tyler Winton notched 12 points on 4/5 shooting with 5 assists. Mason Schwaber just missed being a second double-double on the night with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists while Ben Rael chipped in 9 points.
Yavneh (14-5) came through with a great start to the district portion of their schedule but a five-game pivotal road swing awaits this team over parts of the next three weeks. A tough tilt at Irving the Highlands kicks off this murderous stretch Tuesday evening in a contest that will tell a lot about what is in store for this team.
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
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