Yavneh defeated Irving’s The Highlands School 75-58 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 26-3 (9-1).
It felt like Baltimore weather in February Thursday as Senior Zachary Epstein returned to the land of the unconscious. His 23 points on 6 three pointers nearly two months ago to win the Weiner Tournament in Baltimore was matched plus a trey as Yavneh took apart Highlands. The squad from Irving who played so well for a half versus the Bulldogs a couple weeks ago at their place arguably played better this time around. A 4-0 start for the visitors once again put the Red and Black in peril early on. A great seal from Micah Romaner finished the first basket for the home team and really set the tone. A Noah Rubinstein spinner cut the Highlands lead to a single point and in total a 16-4 Yavneh run provided that home comfort zone that the Bulldogs have enjoyed all season long. Trailing 6-5 nearly 4 minutes into the game, the leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year amongst all high school teams in North America was once again called upon to save the day. Pierce Bell instantly delivered with a three point line drive from the corner, a rebound outlet to Griffin Levine Jr for an easy transition finish, and a sweet dish to Zach Epstein for his first of many long distance dedications. Levine hit Daniel Chernikov for a finish in traffic and Bell notched one more assist to Romaner for a 16-8 lead. The first period ended on a timely Chernikov steal that found Levine for a midair levitating moonwalk scoop. The 20-10 edge for Yavneh was courtesy of sizzling 61% shooting and a nice plus 6 rebound differential. Bell continued his impact into the second period, receiving a perfect lob pass from Levine for an air-alert finish and a 22-13 lead. A pair of three pointers by up-and-coming Blake Everett tightened the game but Bell second-chanced his way to another big basket as he was literally everywhere in that first half. Jonah Eber rifled a pass to Chernikov to restore a 26-18 advantage, and from there it was Epstein-time. Liad Guttman, seeing his first action in almost a month, threw a cross-court pass to the artist known simply as THREpstein to many for a second no-doubt triple. The end of the first half saw an additional Epstein three ball but it was an Eli Minsky rejection of the highest degree that let Highlands know that tonight was not to be their night. The 34-25 Bulldog advantage at halftime was strange in that they controlled shooting and rebounding but shockingly lost the turnover battle. Even in their losses Yavneh was always forcing more giveaways than it dished out.
Rubinstein went over the top to Chernikov to immediately restore a double digit lead at the outset of the second half. Levine wasted no time in swiping a pass for an easy layup and then created the first Epstein trifecta of the second half. Make no mistake….this was Baltimore Zach: catching the ball in rhythm, squaring his shoulders, and throwing up basketballs that looked in mid-air like they could not go anywhere but into the hoop. Amidst the deep Epstein fireworks show and Levine road-runnering his way all over the forecourt, Highlands simply could no longer keep up. Levine recorded a steal, an assist, and a tip follow before receiving a pass from Eber for his own triple from the wing. The Yavneh lead had ballooned to 18 points and the energy was coming from all directions. The Blazers made one last stand to begin the final stanza, reeling off 8 of the first 10 points in the quarter. Missed Bulldog layups and some careless turnovers saw the lead shrink to 56-46 with 6:16 to play. As Ramaz learned in December, however, when Epstein has one of those games no run is safe from the magic. This time he responded with a fifth three ball, and before Highlands could catch their breath, Rubinstein had stolen a basketball for a layup. The lead in a flash was back to 61-46 and three more points were on the way, this time from Levine’s pass to an NBA-range Epstein finish. A steal for a layup and a seventh triple capped a terrific night for the Senior guard and pumped the Yavneh advantage to 69-51. A tenth Bulldog three pointer on the night came courtesy of Levine and the finishing touches with a Guttman to Minsky fast break finished off Highlands for this night. Zach Epstein’s 23 points on the 7 three pointers led scoring for the home team. Griffin Levine added 21 points on nearly as efficient 7/12 shooting with 6 assists to boot. Daniel Chernikov also finished in double-figures with 11 points and Pierce Bell’s 9 point/11 rebound/5 assist night was truly amazing. Bell turned the game around early and provided the spark that was a 9th district win. Also of note, Micah Romaner pulled down 8 rebounds to hold off a spirited Highlands attack.
Yavneh (26-3) has now put themselves in position to grab a share of the district title in one week’s time. With one game left versus winless Cristo Rey before the revenge showdown with Heritage Christian in the Bulldogs house, the drama that the world has been waiting for is right around the corner. With Senior Night, the Heritage game, the prospects of a potential tiebreaker game for playoff seeding, and then of course the TAPPS Playoffs on the horizon, this will be a string of games that will live in Bulldog lore for centuries. How will it all turn out?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 13th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack CTDC M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR