The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) defeated Yavneh 51-39 Sunday afternoon in the Final of The 3rd Annual David A. Yaffee Memorial Basketball Tournament. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 21-6.
The best things in life may indeed be free but don’t tell that to the #1 and 2 Jewish teams in the country. HANC and Yavneh combined to shoot 4/28 from the free throw line en route to an ugly tournament final. Yavneh needed every one of their 13 missed free throws back as a physical game went the way of the bigger HANC squad. The teams played to a competitive opening quarter as the Bulldogs were able to keep HANC off the offensive glass early. Neither team shot well during the game, each finishing well below 50%. It was the second quarter run that won the game for HANC. An 11-8 game ballooned to 26-10 as HANC Senior point guard Nafi Orlofsky played a great quarter with 14 of his 17 points. He controlled the tempo and hit some dagger three pointers to bury Yavneh into a deficit almost insurmountable given the pace of the game. Star Yavneh seniors David Naxon and Erez Krengel struggled all day, particularly Krengel. He was 5/16 and 1/7 from the free throw line. The only other Bulldog to score was a third Senior, Brad Alhadef, who was able to get to the basket but also misfired from the foul line 6 times. The lead would grow as high as 18 points in the second half before Yavneh made a mini-run. Naxon scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half but almost unbelievably did not shoot a single free throw. The game became very physical inside and ultimately the offensive rebounding for the bigger HANC thwarted any further comeback. 13 offensive rebounds is just too many to allow if you are going to miss over a dozenmore to the Bulldogs’ liking early. Should the two teams hook up in New York six weeks down the road, it will be interesting to see what adjustment free throws. The Bulldogs did force 16 turnovers but only truly got the pace going in their favor for a brief time in the second half. HANC played a solid second half in protecting their lead but things could have been different if either the Yavneh stars played better or the pace was s the teams will make and of course how many free throws they will miss the second time around.
Yavneh (21-6) will play THESA Tuesday night as they return to Dallas. They will look to avenge a tough home loss from earlier in the season.