Yavneh defeated Rockwall Heritage Christian 72-36 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 24-5 (11-0).
Ofek Reef scored 18 first period points, Yavneh held Heritage Christian to single-digit rebounds for the game, and the Bulldogs used a 31-4 first period to overcome 19 turnovers Tuesday. In the two games this season against Heritage, the Red-and-Black have started on a combined 57-4 run which crippled the Eagles chances to compete in either game. Senior Nachi Zucker, taking full advantage of Senior Week, dropped off a pass to Jonah Eber mere seconds into the game for a window floater. It looked for all the world like Heritage would see more success than the 26-0 start in Rockwall when they tied the score at 2-2 but Reef was sharp early in this game and left no doubt as to what the result would be. An early AND-ONE finish and an assist to a lounging Zach Bernstein BN at the basket was just the beginning for the Senior sensation. The Bulldogs built a 9-2 lead primarily behind the strong play of a Senior-laden first period, and Bernstein dazzled the capacity crowd. The Pelican stole a meal from the fishermen at half-court and created his own highlight reel with a look-away move that at the very least created a Reef easy put-back. Ofek Reef was dishing and swishing during the initial stretch of this game, finding Mason Schwaber for easy money at the cup and then scoring on a baby hook off a nice feed from Jonah Eber. At 13-4, Reef was not nearly finished as he buried a corner triple and feasted with another tip follow. While he would later add an armpit blocked shot and a steal for a hanging slam dunk, this first quarter was Ofek, Ofek, and more Ofek. Yavneh kept piling on as Bernstein found Eber for a mid-air, one legged runner while magically levitating. Yes…Air Eber was in full effect and this team was absolutely rolling behind Reef’s legendary eight minutes of game action. A Bernstein finish followed by the capping sequence that dizzyingly saw Reef to Eber, a Tyler C Winton steal, and one final Reef deposit surged Yavneh to a 31-4 advantage. This first quarter was a 66-14% shooting exhibition behind the 18 Reef points. Lost in the hoopla was Schwaber’s eight rebound period which would was almost as spectacular. Also of note, Mount Mason almost took a key charge if not for a questionable referee interpretation of the Stop, Drop, and Roll rule. Heritage would be out-rebounded 14-2 in the first 8 minutes on their way to a night where there simply were no boards to be had. Freshman Ben Rael scored his 100th point plus one courtesy of an assist from Reef to begin the second period. The rookie also recorded a steal that set up Schwaber for an easy basket. Winton, who has become much more than a shooter these days, picked off another pass and swooped to the hoop for a punishing AND-ONE finish across the right-side jetway. A 40-4 lead had this game turned on its axis, and the Bulldogs well on their way to a 14th straight victory. The second quarter was a showcase for the Freshmen as Noah Ohayon (previously Shaqhayon) connected on a free throw and finished gracefully on a high post-two handed attack finish. He continued to be SHOWhayon in this game with a great setup of Zucker for straight-away triple. The Senior mid-range specialist expanded his game to so much more on this special night, rebounding a Heritage free throw miss just before the half and giving the basketball a head start towards the locker rooms just as quickly. Once the players from both teams caught up to that ball mere moments later, the Bulldogs had achieved a 47-13 first half lead that (Spoiler Alert) they would not relinquish. 68% shooting, a 25-6 rebounding edge, and 14 forced turnovers told most of the story that was not Ofek Reef.
This game would not require any big third period run like the previous two that were closer to in doubt than a 40-point lead, and some careless play would beset the District 2 champs down the stretch. Zucker, however, was Nach-Done Yet as he took a charge that led to a Schwaber/Reef connection. Reef also found Eber for a great finish to push the lead to 40+ points at 56-15 in the third period. It was at that point that a turnover wave came over Bulldog Nation, enabling an Eagles 11-0 run to trim the lead to 56-24. Reef stemmed the tide with a pullup jumper, Reece Parker scored on a field goal in addition to a free throw, and Yavneh retained the 60-28 margin through three periods of play. Mo Zander-Feinstein threw a great cross-court lob to Rael, completing a 6-point effort in a game that at times the Freshman seemed to be playing for both teams. Feinstein also created offense with an Air Alert offensive rebound of his own layup that turned into a feed to Tom Oster for a bucket. Elisha Klein was no long Ill-isha as he assisted, rebounded, and picked up a steal late in this game. The Jaws assist set up Zucker to cap a nice game for his first career start. Ofek Reef finished the game with 26 points on 12/14 shooting to go along with eight assists. Mason Schwaber had an identical Double-Double to the previous game with a 10-point/10-rebound effort with the boards coming all at the defensive end in his best box out game as a Bulldog. Jonah Eber also pranced his way into double figures with 10 points and mis-fired just twice from the field.
Yavneh (24-5) is back at it on Thursday for SENIOR NIGHT against a Lakehill team that is much improved and provided a challenge in the previous game. It was not until the second half that the Bulldogs pulled away from the pesky Warriors, who are fighting for their playoff lives in the season’s final week.
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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