First Baptist Academy defeated Yavneh 56-47 Monday night. The loss drops Bulldogs record to 17-10 (8-3).
The 6th game of an arduous 8-game road trip for Yavneh turned out to be a second straight district loss Monday as the Bulldogs struggled to rebound and make free throws. This one was trouble right from the start as one-tool player Justin Lovvorn got a pair of way too open clean looks at the basket for a 5-0 First Baptist lead. Back to back field goals for Yavneh answered quickly as Sophomore Noah Rubinstein found baseline-hanging Ori Guttman for a slick finish and then Rubinstein deposited a floater from near the middle of the lane. The passing was superb for the Bulldogs in the opening stanza as Rubinstein added a pinpoint find of Senior Noah Weiss, who was also the beneficiary of a Steve Levine dish for a timely reverse layup. The defense, however, was a whole different story. An 8-1 First Baptist run headlined the first period and staked the home team to a 17-9 advantage. They shot 57% and capitalized on both of their second chances for points. The lead would grow to 10 points in the second quarter before Weiss found Levine for the first of his trio of triples. The Post Office connection of Daniel Chernikov to Weiss had diced the lead in half to 5 points at 19-14. Just when the Bulldogs were making some headway with a pair of inbounds plays in which Yavneh big men muscled their way into the paint for easy baskets, a duo of 4 point First Baptist runs kept the game at a 6-point margin. Weiss really started to dominate the game in the latter half of the second quarter as Levine was finding him at the basket nearly every trip down the court. Levine finished in transition courtesy of a third Rubinstein helper and then found Senior Zak Schultz for his daily reverse layup. The closest Yavneh would come was 28-27 on a straight-away Levine three pointer but a critical 5-0 First Baptist finish to the first half may have been too much for a struggling Bulldog squad to overcome on this night. The 33-27 halftime deficit included 4 deadly offensive rebounds allowed for points, 5 missed free throws, and sizzling 62% shooting for the opponent. Weiss and Levine kept their team close with 18 points combined and only 3 turnovers was a sight for sore eyes compared to the 32 at Trinity on Thursday.
One of the teams would surely play some defense in the third quarter and for the first 4 minutes it was actually both. No one sniffed a point for 3:31 to start the second half until Chernikov followed his own miss to cut the lead to 33-29. That would be the closest that the Bulldogs would come the rest of the way. A 6-0 First Baptist spurt re-established that 10 point lead at 39-29 with 2:52 to play in the third period. The second chance points on missed box outs nourished the home team and Yavneh missed free throws were getting outright ridiculous. One for their first eight attempts, the Bulldogs were sinking fast on the road and were powerless to turn it around. David Steinbrecher set up Weiss for a layup but Levine’s third triple of the game really only stopped the bleeding of yet another First Baptist 4 point run. Weiss stole a basketball that led to another of his baskets for a 43-36 deficit through three periods of play, and Steinbrecher drilled a three ball from near the corner to once again make the lead just 4 points. Lovvorn, however, answered instantly from the opposite corner to key a 7-0 First Baptist response that for all intents and purposes set a coast to the finish in motion. Continuing to feed off offensive rebounds, FBA possessed the ball for much of the fourth quarter en route to an anti-climactic victory that put 2nd place in District 3 into a virtual tie. Noah Weiss finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Steve Levine added 15 points and 7 assists. No one else connected on more than 2 shots and the team missed 10 free throws while yielding 15 points on 7 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, three FBA players combined for 46 of the 56 points while the Bulldogs held #5 to just 4 points.
Yavneh (17-10) is now in a dawg fight for 2nd place and the coveted home playoff game awarded in District 3. With 5 games remaining, it will be a question now of who will slip up against teams both the Bulldogs and FBA have previously beaten (if any). Of more immediate concern, two games remain on the 8-game road journey that stops in Rockwall, Texas Tuesday. These district games have all been wars on the road and it will take a fundamentally different team to break this losing streak and steady the ship for the stretch run.
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR