Yavneh defeated Irving The Highlands 51-46 Wednesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 19-9 (7-6).
David Steinbrecher scored 18 points, including a pair of free throws to close the door, and Yavneh won its second consecutive game for the third time in district play Wednesday. The game started exactly as the previous one ended with a giant bounce for the Bulldogs off the rim. This time, Steinbrecher’s first of four triples on the night ricocheted through for a 3-0 lead. He connected on another mid-range shot and Steve Levine lobbed for Daniel Chernikov to secure a 7-3 beginning on the road. Highlands got a career night out of Sam Stevenson with 26 points on 7 three pointers including two in a row to tie the game at 9-9. In fact, after Noah Rubinstein delivered a slippery finish at the rim, Highlands recorded 7 straight points to end the first period with a 14-9 advantage. It just seems that every Bulldog opponent has a world record shooting night but in actuality Highlands did hold a 29% shooting edge after a period. The Red and Black also did not help matters shooting 1/8 from distance. Yavneh clawed their way to within a single point on a pair of Chernikov free throws and a Zach Epstein steal for a layup to make the score 14-13. The teams traded three pointers with Steinbrecher hitting again but that was offset by the fourth second chance three pointer this week for a Bulldog opponent. The Senior connection for the lead, however, saw Steve Levine set up Jonathan Ochstein for a finish. Ochstein also sprinted down a basketball for a big steal, leading to a Griffin Levine skip pass to Steinbrecher for another three ball. An Ochstein jumper was not enough to hold the lead for halftime as Stevenson continued to light it up. Highlands led 25-24 at the break behind 56% shooting. They made 4 more threes than Yavneh on only 1 more attempt. While Steinbrecher scored 11 points, the home team’s big win was holding Steve Levine to a large goose egg in the first half scoring column.
The most points you can give up on one possession without allowing an offensive rebound or fumble out of bounds is typically four…so Yavneh moved forward with that option as Stevenson seemed virtually unconscious for the majority of this match-up. The suddenly 29-24 Highlands game-high lead was enough to awaken Steve Levine. His corner triple briskly sliced the lead to 2 points and in the blink of an eye found the other corner for as quick of a 6-0 personal run imaginable. After no points in an entire half, Levine had given the Bulldogs a 30-29 edge in the matter of 30 seconds. Griffin Levine added his own triple off a nice Chernikov feed for a 9-0 Levine three point parade that suddenly saw the road team with a 33-29 lead. The Yavneh advantage continued to grow as Steinbrecher answered another Highlands second-chance triple with a hit of his own, followed by a Steve Levine steal to Griffin for the finish. Zach Epstein would complete the run with two free throws and a monster three ball of his own. The run in total was 19-5 for the Bulldogs keyed by buckets of three point efficiency. Highlands finished the third period with a 5-0 response keyed by rare Yavneh turnovers and another foul on Stevenson while shooting a three pointer. The teams traded baskets to start the final stanza with Steve Levine finding Chernikov at the rim but the game stagnated a bit amidst Highlands taking 15 seconds to advance the ball past half-court on multiple possessions. Leading 45-41 with 3:17 to play, Stevenson delivered his seventh triple to cut the lead to a single point. The 45-44 Bulldog lead somehow held for the next 2+ minutes as they dodged a trio of Highlands three pointers (2 somehow someway by Stevenson). Steinbrecher was fouled with 1:10 to go and hit the first two of six Yavneh closeout free throws which all were perfect. He added a big rebound in between connecting on two more charity shots, and Steve Levine drilled the other pair without incident. While his body surfing on one of the final inbounds plays was unnecessary, Levine rebounded with a nice second half. The 46 points allowed for the second straight game improves this team’s unbelievable record when allowing less than 50 points to 18-1. David Steinbrecher led all people not named Stevenson with 18 points and 7 rebounds (5 offensive). Steve Levine scored all 8 of his points in the second half and also notched 8 assists to go along with 5 steals. Zach Epstein added 7 timely points and Daniel Chernikov recorded 6 points with 8 big rebounds. Also of note, Griffin Levine and Jonathan Ochstein scored 5 points apiece while Levine also had 5 assists.
Yavneh (19-9) can do a lot with a win Thursday against Ovilla Christian. For one, they can win 20 games for the fifth straight year running. They can also win a third straight game which would be a high for district play this year as far as the Bulldogs are concerned. MOST importantly, a win would clinch a playoff spot and eliminate Ovilla from TAPPS 3A contention for at least 3 years. With a change of venue, the addition of Chernikov, and the crowd behind them for a much anticipated revenge round with Ovilla, is Yavneh ready to ride the waves and take that leap into would be a signature win for this group?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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