THESA defeated Yavneh 51-45 Thursday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 12-8.
Who ever would have thought that something so free of charge would cost the most but the charity stripe single-handedly cost Yavneh on a night that they improved in nearly every other aspect. 14 misfires from the free throw line provided a tremendous uphill battle that the Bulldogs nearly still conquered. Scoring sensation Elan Kogutt rebounded nicely from his poor shooting performance Tuesday with an electric opening quarter. Kogutt knocked down three pointers early and the Bulldogs busted out of the gate with an 11-6 edge. The pace was outstanding for the home team but all that changed when Yavneh got three point happy towards the end of the first period. A three minute chuck-a-thon led to a THESA 8-0 run turning the game around. THESA pushed their advantage out to 8 points in the second period as the Bulldogs began their game-long free throw woes. As opposed to the 8 points he tallied in the first quarter, Kogutt was completely shut out in the second. Yavneh shot 29% from the floor but that seemed grand in comparison to the 2/9 free throws. Additionally, THESA made just as many three point goals in the first half on 7 less attempts. As bad as Kogutt was on Tuesday, his partner in crime carried the dreaded baton on this night. Jordan Prescott could never find it, shooting 4/17 and 1/9 from three point range. The normally deadly sharpshooter was uncharacteristically off his game, and as a result the team could ill-afford the misfires from the foul line. The 8 point halftime deficit grew to double digits before Yavneh showed some life. The Bulldogs orchestrated an 18-7 run in less than 6 minutes that woke everyone up. Struggling Prescott and Kogutt were right in the middle of the run with Prescott nailing his lone three pointer to ignite the final part and Kogutt finishing things off with a corner three-ball. He then found Prescott under the basket for a 37-36 Yavneh lead. As Kogutt finished an almost impossible baseline (surprise??) runner, the Bulldogs had scored more points in one quarter than they had combined the previous two. The only problem was that points would be scarce the rest of the way. Yavneh held a 41-38 lead entering the final period but more missed free throws and a critical turnover at half court gave THESA the lead at 43-42 with 3:20 to play. In a short cease fire, Kogutt delivered on two free throws to get the Bulldogs the lead back a possession later at 44-43. Yavneh followed that up with an excellent defensive series but once again a critical offensive rebound catapulted THESA back into the lead for good at 45-44 with 2:22 to play. The Bulldogs had been much improved on the boards all game long, turning around the lopsided statistic from last game. They actually drew even in rebounds at 32-32 with the bigger THESA group. Yavneh had their chances even after that, missing another free throw that would have at the very least tied the game and then one last turnover with the game still within reach down by 2 a trip later. Fouling at the game’s end made the margin a bit bigger but this was a gut-wrenching one possession loss by all accounts. No need for genius mathematicians, rocket scientists, or statisticians to count the 14 missed free throws and see where the game was lost. The bright spot remains that if the Bulldogs can follow tonight’s formula of even rebounds and plus takeaways, it stands to reason that a couple of the free throws will indeed find the basket and lead to victories. Kogutt led all scorers with 22 points.
Yavneh (12-8) is likely off until they travel to Houston for the David A. Yaffee z’l Memorial Tournament next Thursday.
The Kennel Report, now in its sixth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
LF 7-5