Yavneh defeated Dallas First Baptist Academy 63-59 Tuesday night on SENIOR NIGHT. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 21-10 (9-7).
Yavneh honored their 5 Seniors in a dramatic come-from-behind victory to force a 17th district game in an effort to settle 4th place in District 3 Tuesday. Senior tri-captains Steve Levine and David Steinbrecher hooked up for a Steinbrecher corner triple to start the game as all 5 Seniors started and got in the books early. Jacob Lampert digested a defensive rebound to the delight of the capacity crowd but First Baptist scored on 4 of their other possessions at the start. Levine was unconscious to begin this game with a spin-cycle finish that had FBA players flying every which way and then a pull-up jumper off a great feed from Senior Sammy Weyser. Weyser also saved an early possession with a towering offensive rebound well above the clouds. The third captain Jonathan Ochstein assisted Steve Levine for another shot, this one a three for the first Bulldog lead at 10-8. First Baptist sharpshooter Justin Lovvorn, playing his last regular season game, was every bit as sizzling as Levine at the start. 4 first quarter three pointers, most hitting nothing but net, kept the road team ahead of the chains leading 16-10. Steinbrecher countered with a deep two point jump shot and Daniel Chernikov became the first non-Senior scorer of the night for Yavneh with a pair of baskets to tie the game. Noah Rubinstein got the lead back for the home team on a scoot to the hoop late in the first period. That Bulldog 8-0 response in a flash set the tone for a first half offensive explosion from both sides. The game remained deadlocked at 20-20 to end the opening stanza with no defense on either side having entered the premises. Chernikov found Steve Levine on a backdoor cut for a 22-20 lead but First Baptist started to attack the paint and used second chance points to engineer a 7-0 spurt that found the Bulldogs behind by 5 points. Ochstein drilled a jumper while Levine again exploded to the basket as Yavneh tried to sneak back into the game. Another Steinbrecher corner three ball cut the deficit to as few as 2 points but First Baptist held a 39-34 halftime advantage behind 53% shooting and three second chance buckets. Seniors Levine and Steinbrecher combined for 24 of the 34 points but Lovvorn’s four triples and Chris Stoker’s double-digit first half had the Bulldogs once again searching for defensive relief.
Ochstein fed Chernikov for a high post jumper but 6 of the 8 points to start the second half belonged to FBA. The 45-36 lead was the biggest of the night and had members of the Lubbock Tourism Committee doing cartwheels in the street. If 4th place was going to be a possibility, the Bulldogs had to respond quickly. Steve Levine set up Chernikov for a finish and somehow guided in a layup off a mad scramble in the paint to draw within 45-40. The game really tightened on two Ochstein freebies for 45-42 but momentum seemed lost on the ensuing possession. Dee Henry scooped up a Lovvorn air ball three and finished for a deflating AND NONE. The game easily could have gone to the final period with a margin of more than one possession but Ochstein’s baseline explosion finger roll capped a better defensive quarter for Yavneh in trailing now just 47-44. Ochstein made it back to back field goals to begin the Bulldog offensive attack in the fourth period with a great fake in the paint for a second straight finish courtesy of Rubinstein passes. That kick-started the 9-0 run that really defined this game for the Bulldogs. Steinbrecher, who was hot early, broke a personal drought with a laser from the corner to tie the game at 49-49 with 6:03 to play. The crowd was alive and First Baptist was losing composure as a Chernikov to Rubinstein connection gave the Bulldogs back the lead at 51-49. Moments later, Griffin Levine darted a pass to Chernikov for 53-49 and the 9th straight Yavneh point. The game got physical as a game has been all year following that and the Bulldogs went scurrying to try desperately and secure a defensive rebound up 4 points. The possession arrow finally got one for the home team, who was holding on for dear life. FBA ran off 3 of the next 4 points to trail by a basket at 54-52 with 2:34 remaining. Steve Levine has hit some big shots in his career but his missile from the parking lot off a pass from Griffin Levine was a warning to the 30 other TAPPS 3A player qualifiers. 57-52 was the Yavneh lead and they were in position to close the game. A Griffin Levine free throw kept a multi-possession lead in tact as seconds ticked off slowly but surely and a crawl to the finish was in order. Noah Rubinstein’s pair of free throws up 58-54 gave the Bulldogs their game-high 6 point lead but it may have been his third block in the last two games that facilitated such a margin. FBA battled until the end and actually crept to within 61-58 with 7.5 seconds remaining. Needing just one free throw to ice the game, Jonathan Ochstein knew he needed both to get to the magical 63 points where Yavneh is now 7-0 on the season rivaled only by their 18-1 record when allowing less than 50 points. Ochstein calmly drained both free throws and torpedoed his squad into a 4th place tiebreaker game to be played most likely on Thursday. The three captains had monster nights on their memorable Senior Night. Steve Levine led the way with 19 points and 9 assists. David Steinbrecher added 13 points while Jonathan Ochstein tallied 10 points to go along with his 8 rebounds. Daniel Chernikov pumped in 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Noah Rubinstein collected 11 rebounds on the night.
Yavneh (21-10) will play overtime to see what Big 12 college town they will frequent for an opening round playoff game. Lubbock may be 34% more densely populated than Waco but don’t tell that to the Bulldogs or McKinney Christian who will battle it out on the court for rights to visit Waco’s Vanguard Prep. For the 5 Seniors it will be one more non-elimination game to gear up for their last crack at the TAPPS playoffs. For a team that is right now playing their best basketball of the season, this could be just one more in a line of special victories in a February to remember.
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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