Yavneh defeated Dallas First Baptist Junior Varsity 72-14 and Harvest Christian School of Watauga TX 89-32 in their two pool play games at the 2016 FBA Holiday Basketball Tournament Monday. The Bulldogs season record now stands at 15-2 and stretches their winning streak to a remarkable 12 games still counting upwards.
The amazing tournament run of barely still 2016 continued in earnest Monday with a 161 points in 5 hours outburst. The gaudy offensive numbers and stingy defense that would ultimately swoosh the Bulldogs into the Semifinals looked from the outset to be in serious peril. Playing at 6am California time (8am local) in sub-teen temperatures inside a gym with no recognizable heating plan, Yavneh yielded a devastating three pointer from the right wing to start the opening contest. The chilling reality of being isolated and shut out for nearly a minute in what amounted to a supermarket cooler with two basketball hoops, a pair of referees in jackets, and a crowd that could easily have been mistaken for that at a Bears/Packers game almost broke the momentum of a basketball team on top of the world. Out of the shadows, however, came Senior tri-captain Daniel Chernikov with a tip follow for the ages that ignited a 26-3 run stretching through the end of the opening period. Micah Romaner’s steal jump started the Griffin Levine show and by the time Levine fed Jonah ThrEber for a wing triple a sub-varsity team had come to the realization that they did not belong in this contest. Super-sub Pierce Bell took all of 4.8 seconds to score upon entering the game with a steal and subsequent finish. Bell also scored on a leaning inbounds play at the rim and assisted Eli Minsky at the basket to build a 20-5 lead. The pressure defense for Yavneh was simply too much, causing 14 first half turnovers while Noah Rubinstein added 8 first period points on flawless shooting from the field. Levine was all over the place, stealing basketballs, connecting from long distance, and providing energy that sparked a short-handed Bulldog squad that never thought twice about playing only 7 guys. A 46-12 halftime lead was courtesy of 63-20% field goal shooting, 21 forced turnovers, and double the opponent points from just the duo of Levine and Rubinstein alone. All 7 players for Yavneh scored, many of them in double figures. The biggest rebounding competitions in the game were those between various Bulldog players vying for the ball at top flight. The game had less than no drama until the final 4 minutes of the contest. Sure the Levine air ball three point attempt hockey assist through Eber and back to himself for a layup was riveting for the chilled crowd but it was First Baptist’s own version of Watergate that most in attendance will remember for generations. Eber’s tryout for the swim team on the left sideline exposed a minor flooding issue coming from a leaking roof to add to the cold gym issues. Regardless, the game came to its merciful end and actually forced a move to a downtown venue second to only the American Airlines Center for the remainder of the tournament. Griffin Levine led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points and 6 assists. Noah Rubinstein followed with 14 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals
on perfect 6/6 shooting from the field. Pierce Bell’s 13 point/8 rebound effort and Jonah Eber’s 10 point (a short lived career high), 5 assist, and 4 steal game rounded out those in double figures. The post combo of Daniel Chernikov and Micah Romaner also teamed up for 15 points and 8 rebounds.
For those at the First Baptist tournament waiting to see how Yavneh did against an actual varsity basketball team did not have to wait long at the downtown location version of these games. Harvest Christian literally never began the second contest under a siege of Bulldog pressure defense combinations and as close to perfect as this offense has ever been. From a 5-0 beginning to never looking back, Yavneh dissected this fellow 3A TAPPS opponent in every facet of the game. Griffin Levine scored early and often with 9 first quarter points but the dominance of the bigs made it impossible to deal with the pressure, the tremendous guard play, the hot shooting, and the Romaner/Chernikov tandem down low. Converting turnovers for touchdowns and passing with the most extreme precision, Yavneh quickly built a 20-4 advantage. Rubinstein was stealing and assisting with regularity en route to a very special game. Defensively, Harvest Christian managed just 15% against stifling defensive intensity. When Levine got stripped but turned the play into a scoop assist to Romaner for a strong finish it was clear that the Saints West was ready for lunch or anything not on this particular basketball court. 23-6 was already an unmanageable margin when Eli Minsky happened. Three steals practically in succession, rebounds in all four corners of the gym, and a pair of finishes highlighted a three-minute stretch that Minsky announced that not only was this game over but it was going to be one of the most memorable defeats to come to harvest in a long while. The first half was a 47-14 shellacking in every way but maybe the most impressive part was the 17 assists on 20 made shots. The Bulldogs were sharing the basketball like never before and also only committed one single turnover. The second half was a lot more of the same, almost exclusively in the half-court. Jonah Eber continued to average 1.0 career scoring highs per game on the day with a breakout 16 point exhibition. He was scoring inside and outside, almost all on assists from Noah Rubinstein. Yavneh was scoring at will off of anything they drew up. Every player scored multiple baskets but the common denominator was “assisted by Rubinstein. The Senior tri-captain had 13 helpers in all, tying the single-game Yavneh record set by all-time assists leader Sam Kleinman against another TAPPS school Shelton in 2013-14. In addition to the Eber breakout that including an honorable mention 7 assists in this game, Griffin Levine notched another 27 points to lead all scorers. Daniel Chernikov chipped in 14 points with 6 rebounds while Micah Romaner narrowly missed a double-double with 8 points to go along with 11 big rebounds. When the timely bell rang for Pierce Bell he did not miss on the double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in a great effort. Eli Minsky and Noah Rubinstein did a little of everything really well with the record setting 13 assists inking the first lasting legacy of possibly much more to come for the artist known in many lands simply as Triipp.
Yavneh (15-2) has 2 more basketball games to play in Calendar 2016. They hope a 13-game winning streak and a second tournament final in the month of December awaits their Tuesday agenda in downtown Dallas. The 11:30am Semifinal opponent will be determined later Monday night but the prospect of a potential Finals match-up with tournament host and ex-district rival First Baptist Academy within the grasps of both institutions.
The Kennel Report, now in its 13th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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