The Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy (JEC) defeated Yavneh 65-45 Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of Yeshiva University’s Red Sarachek Tournament. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 25-8.
Yavneh picked one heck of a time to play their worst offensive, defensive, and all around game of the season. Unfortunately, that cost the Bulldogs any shot at their first ever Sarachek Tournament championship. JEC used a thrilling first half shooting display and a tenacious trapping defense to stymie the Yavneh attack, particularly in the opening half. Both teams started hot right out of the gate as JEC built an early 13-8 lead. In a devastating 22-0 run that spanned the late first and early second quarters, JEC clearly would not miss. They shot 71% in the first quarter and really never slowed down. Gadi Gottlieb nailed some dagger three pointers to key the run. Defensively, JEC essentially took away star Senior David Naxon. With just 5 points on 2/3 shooting and 8 turnovers, the swarming defense was just too much for Naxon to shoo off. Like a conglomerate of bees, JEC pested the Bulldogs into 25 turnovers, many for easy layups at the other end. The halftime score became 38-12 as Yavneh continued to miss and JEC continued to convert at will. Any hope of a comeback was quickly thwarted as Yakov Goder scored a quick 4 of his team-high 12 points to demoralize the upstart Bulldogs. The lead ballooned to 37 at one point in the third quarter before Yavneh would finally make a run. Albeit too late, the Bulldogs ended the game on a 26-9 run to lose by 20. While Naxon continued to struggle at even getting the ball in scoring position, Senior Erez Krengel came alive to provide some energy. In leading all scorers with 27 points, Krengel also reached the 1,000-point plateau of his Yavneh career. This is quite an accomplishment for a kid who couldn’t shake “mono” for the first three months of his Freshman career just 4 years ago. The recipe for disaster reared its ugly head once again on this day…doubled up on the boards, 25 turnovers, and a defensive field goal percentage almost twice as high as the amount of points the Bulldogs scored. To use “disappointment” would be the understatement of all-time.
However, there is no time for Yavneh to sulk. Their final two games will be against perennial powerhouse teams in the quest for fifth place. The first will be the artists formerly known as Valley Torah on Sunday. The Bulldogs, specifically the five Seniors, have a chance to go out with their heads held high. But they will have to dig deep against a pair of loaded opponents. In their last meeting, Valley Torah handled Todd Nathan and Yavneh with relative ease. VT will also be looking for revenge as their quarterfinal was allegedly stolen from them Friday after a controversial foul call in the final 3 seconds.
THE KENNEL REPORT IS WRITTEN BY ZACK POLLACK