Yavneh defeated Lakehill Preparatory School of Dallas 72-24 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a veritable 21-0 (4-0).
With much of the free world concerned that Yavneh would look past a dangerous Lakehill team with Highlands on the visible horizon, 10 players scored field goals once again in another wire to wire victory. Micah Romaner notched an immediate steal leading to the first basket of the game. Lakehill could not have expected much success in the opening two minutes with 6 turnovers over that stretch. That coupled with 4 fouls was nothing but trouble for a team that would suffer through shooting woes all night long. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs scored the first 10 points of the game courtesy of the usual suspects Griffin Levine Sr and Ofek Reef. Reef finished in transition while Levine, in addition to assisting on a couple early baskets, buried a baseline jumper off a great feed from Pierce Bell. Lakehill could claim only a banked three pointer as points for much of the opening quarter while Yavneh continued to make shots. Tyler C Winton threaded a seeing-eye pass to Bell at the basket for a 14-3 advantage as the Bulldogs were dishing and swishing all night long. The biggest boost for the offense may well have been the trio of triples Yavneh got from Sam Schultz, who had been working on his shot overseas. The first Schultz moon ball from distance came courtesy of a Bell assist for 21-5. The opening stanza came to an explosive ending with the two Bulldog high-risers checking in with Top 10 Nominee plays. First, Winton used a virtual ladder to erase yet another jump shot that thought it could avoid his unlimited wing span. The exclamation mark on the 23-5 period, however, was Reef’s steal and stuff specialty that nearly dislodged the entire basket. A small disparity of 47-15% shooting had surged the Bulldogs into a lead that they were unlikely to disown. The second period saw Schultz continue to bomb away from the outside in what truly was a cannot miss half for the Senior guard. Zach Bernstein joined the three-point parade with a wing triple of his own and then a determined Eli Minsky’s scoot to the hoop made the score 38-8. Jonah Eber assisted on three straight baskets towards the end of the first half, none more thrilling than his feed to Bernstein making the score 40-8. In fact, that pass was caught, fumbled, re-gathered, spun on three fingers, and cleaned with a white cloth all with Bernstein in mid-air for the smoothest of finishes. Eber also found Mason Schwaber on the roll for a nice finish and Romaner buried his defender in the paint to beat the halftime buzzer at 44-11. The Bulldogs dominated shooting 51-14%, were the more efficient team from the free throw line, more than doubled Lakehill on the boards, and did not even need a +5 turnover differential to build their massive lead. The biggest shocker of the first half may very well have been the 1/16 shooting struggles from the dangerous tandem of Eli Buxt and Gerard Franklin that no one could have foreseen.
There was no lack of heroic performances for the Bulldogs on this night. Romaner was simply on turbo mode and continued the Yavneh tradition of posts that Lakehill could not handle in the least. Bell pushed the lead to 50-11 as he entered the world of midget ball, posting a Lakehill guard that may well have been 3’8. Eber had a pair of critical steals in the third period as the clock seemed to run faster than any Lakehill player. Winton and Bernstein hooked up on a ShowTime pick-and-roll to the basket that gave any Levine-Reef connection a run for its money on this night. Bernstein was so scorching at times in this game that the scoreboard flickered BURN-stein on occasion. Minsky basically owned the final period with several nice plays but his highlight had to be a three offensive rebound possession culminating in a finish at the rim for a 61-19 edge. Ofek Reef led all scorers with 14 points on another perfect shooting night. Pierce Bell’s 10 points came without a miss as well while Zach Bernstein and Sam Schultz each netted refreshing 9 point performances. Four players added 6 points including Eli Minsky and his 8 rebounds, Micah Romaner who dazzled all with an array of offensive moves, Tyler Winton and his 6 assists, and Mason Schwaber came back to haunt his former school. Also of note, Jonah Eber and Griffin Levine each threw 5 assists.
Yavneh (21-0) will see the final 2 district teams next week. The Bulldogs will look to give a third district team its first loss Tuesday but it will not be easy. Highlands is off to a sizzling start in District 3 and knows a win over the Red-and-Black would put them in the driver seat for a district title. Can the Bulldogs really win their first 22 games in a row? Will the Highlands lethal post/guard combo give Yavneh any issues? Which team will emerge from Tuesday as the class of this super-district through the first half of conference play?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR