The Abraham Joshua Heschel School of New York defeated Yavneh 43-42 in Overtime of The Joseph and Florence Weiner Memorial Tournament FINALS in Baltimore, Maryland Saturday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs season record to 16-4.
A 22-foot dead eye triple with under five seconds left in regulation thrilled the city of Baltimore, captivated a national listening audience, and unleashed an instant superstar to the world that those close to the program have been privileged to watch mature for the last 1240 days. Senior Captain Sam Kleinman scored 21 bloodied, battered, and sometimes miraculous points in one of the most epic single-game performances in school history. And it was almost enough to bring the Bulldogs a tournament championship in their self-created nemesis metropolis. Having lost by 17 points to Heschel 3 night earlier, Yavneh had much to prove with a now fully healthy and motivated roster. Kleinman was a monster right from the opening possessions with consecutive steals for streaking layups. The first was a dazzling shake-and-bake finish that had Heschel shaking in their New York snow boots. The second was followed up with a no doubter three pointer for a 7-2 start. The first 4:30 seconds were as flawless of a beginning to a basketball game that a headline player can give his team. A full-court pass to classmate Adam Schor, who made a nice dribble move for the finish, further electrified a gym packed to the gills for Saturday night’s main event. Lost in the great start was the incredible turnaround of the Bulldog defense. Heschel’s 23-5 second quarter run Wednesday was a far cry from the inept offensive attack that they were remanded to a trio of days later. A Yavneh 2-3 zone completely befuddled Heschel as they fired up one off balance rushed heave after another and Yavneh so soundly controlled the defensive boards. In the Bulldogs 9-6 first period, they also turned over Heschel 7 masterful times. Heschel would tie the game early in the second period but Yavneh reclaimed control with a 7-0 run that smacked them right in the mouth. A Kleinman sweeping drive and another three ball were fantastic but the key play in the run was a twisting and turning zig-zag drive by Steve Levine that left even the referees too dizzy to properly call the rest of the game. With Heschel unable to get anything going from the field, an unfortunate turn of events caused the Bulldogs to yield a 7-0 spurt right back almost exclusively powered by turnovers that led to free throws. For the second straight game Yavneh found themselves in extreme foul trouble and having to shuffle key players out in spots they really should not have had to. Not only did it cost in the roster moves but also to the tune of a +12 in attempts and accounted for 21.4% of Heschel’s overall point total. The 16-16 deadlock at halftime and 30% tie in field goal shooting was advantage Heschel in momentum. Each team was hurt severely by double-digit first half turnovers but shot selection down the stretch also slaughtered the Bulldog chances at a halftime lead. 2/10 three pointers could have been inside looks for the big men who never really got going in the first 14 minutes.
The second half began with more of the same sloppy offense and with defenses dictating the tempo. Slowly Heschel was making the game ugly enough to take control despite the fact that they never truly solved the Yavneh zone. At the end of the day, it seems to always come down to turnovers with this Bulldog squad and 25 was way too many in a game that neither team even sniffed 50 points. A stretch of 6 turnovers in 7 offensive trips sank the veteran group from Dallas and gave Heschel a chance to methodically build a 6 point lead. Untimely missed box outs and late defensive rotations led to a 12-2 run for Heschel. The 8 point deficit was answered briefly by Schor who connected on a layup and a pair of free throws. 28-22 was the Heschel advantage heading to the final stanza. A key sequence in the game ended that third period s Schor’s free throws and a Heschel turnover created a unique opportunity to get essentially three straight possessions. Not able to capitalize on two of those, however, pushed the lead back to 30-22 with just under six minutes to play. Kleinman’s driving scoop shot and a post-to-post special from Itai Guttman to Schor sliced the lead in half within less than a minute. A killer second-chance triple from Heschel in response looked to be a dagger for 33-26 but again Kleinman would not go quietly into the night. He drove with a passion and Heschel was helpless to stop a now big-time crowd favorite. Itai Guttman, who had struggled up to that point, connected on a huge follow-u shot to once again provide hope at 34-30 and then threw a great pass to Kleinman for a rolling rim-hugger. It was at that moment for the first time all night long that someone else wearing a Yavneh Academy jersey besides Kleinman made a championship statement and it could not have come at a better time. Guttman played with a passion in desperation time at the offensive end and his monster blocked shot gave the Bulldogs a possession within 4 points at long last. Heschel did not record a single field goal after their 38th point to capture the 38-32 lead but they were long since in the foul bonus and surviving only on a made free throw every so often. 2/6 free throws down the stretch prolonged the game for the Bulldogs but with no timeouts navigating a way to creep within a single possession was nearly impossible. Somehow, though, one final regulation missed free throw from Heschel left the game 39-36 with 16.8 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs spread the floor and it took no rocket scientist to know where the ball was going. The crowd knew, all three legislative branches knew, and everyone in the gym but the Heschel defense apparently understood. Nevertheless, Adam Karnett delivered a cross-court strike to Kleinman for the NBA+ three point rainbow that will forever be remembered in Beth Tfiloh, Yavneh, and tournament lore. The scoreboard read 39-39 and there was not an individual in the gym who will ever forget the heroics of the comeback or the shot that ultimately put this championship game into overtime. Heschel had a final chance in regulation but turned the ball over with 1.1 second left. Kleinman’s two hand overhead missile from half-court torpedoed through the hoop 3/4 of a second after the buzzer but left no doubt that Heschel’s only chance to win this game was going to be without Kleinman on the court.
Heschel looked shaken, baffled, and defeated as Kleinman one more time directed the overtime tip into the hands of Ori Guttman for a driving exclamation point and a 41-39 lead right off the bat. A Steve Levine hustle play prevented a tie game and averted self-created disaster in the open court as the Bulldogs maintained the slimmest of leads in the overtime. Heschel could not make a basket and continued to live on bread, water, and charity shots. Karnett and Kleinman combined to secure an enormous rebound to keep the lead at 41-40 but Yavneh needed offense to hold on. In the parade to the foul line for Heschel, Itai Guttman fouled out and then Kleinman moments later. Each could have used an extra foul as they caught some tough breaks on many of the 10 that ultimately disqualified them. David Rudomin gobbled up the biggest defensive rebound of his life to once more hold off Heschel but outside of Schor’s single free throw on the ensuing possession the Bulldogs had not and would not score anything after the opening tip play to begin overtime. Heschel’s Jack Gindi continued to put a sleeping and cook a late dinner on the free throw stripe and made 3/4 in the final 40 seconds to deliver a 43-42 edge. A last-second desperation prayer from the opposite side of half-court was not answered and the subsequent gut-wrenching final buzzer marked the end to a game for the ages despite the result. Sam Kleinman’s 21 points nor his stat line do justice to the grit and determination that he played with. Rarely if ever before has a player so poignantly captured the hearts of a crowd, many of whom had never seen him play, up to the point that patrons at local restaurants and hotels were still buzzing about the effort 4 hours after the game went final. Itai Guttman added 8 points/13 rebounds in a bounce-back second half and Adam Schor notched an additional 6 points/9 REBOUNDS.
Yavneh (16-4) will appreciate this game more with each passing day but for now heartbreak and disappointment will only add fire, passion, and determination to a team that is fueled by this type of kerosene. If Shelton is not already hoping against hope for preventative storms both in Baltimore and Dallas the next 48 hours, they will have been by the time Tuesday night’s final 2013 Bulldog tilt is complete. The weather is probably the only thing that could get in the way of a response heard throughout the world.
The Kennel Report, now in its tenth season, has been written by… Zack Pollack M&M
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