Yavneh defeated Lakehill Preparatory School 78-20 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a peerless 27-0 (10-0).
Yavneh is now one single win OR Highlands loss away from an outright district title!! Griffin Levine Sr scored 18 points in 16 minutes Tuesday, Jonah Eber severely flirted with a triple-double in his best game of the season, and the Bulldogs left no doubt in their come-from-behind victory. Lakehill held leads of 2-0 and 4-2 before Yavneh took control in a very tenuous first 3 minutes of basketball. Eber found Pierce Bell and Ofek Reef connected on a pair of early free throws but with nearly three minutes elapsed the score was deadlocked at 4-4. Could this Bulldogs team possibly cough up their district advantage and allow Highlands back into a favorable position in the standings? Would the unthinkable happen in the Gym By the Lake? Would the Ground-And-Pound combo of Buxt and Franklin finally prove to be too dynamic for a Yavneh team playing the sandwich game of a challenging 3-contest week? Well…all these questions and more were answered over the course of a telling 48-5 run that ended the first half. A dapper cross-court feed from Levine to Bell accounted for the first lead of the game for the Bulldogs at 6-4. Eber’s second of nine glorious assists was a two-handed rebound and subsequent baseball pass to a streaking Levine for the finish. With these baskets, Yavneh gained momentum and set up their pressure defense that the Warriors simply had no answer for. Transition points were coming in short order with rebound outlets and straight steals for baskets. Reef’s steal/assist to Bell capped a 12-0 stretch in which the lead became 14-4 just that quickly. Bell then grabbed a rebound that found Levine at the basket through a creative Eber jump-pass from midair. Tyler C Winton pin-pointed a pass to Bell for a sweet mid-lane jumper followed by a trio of timely steals from defensive specialist Sam Schultz. A Reef jam, Winton silky finish, and a Mason Schwaber paint bucket were all beneficiary plays from the Schultz pilfers. Schwaber continued his strong play in the second period with a put-back and a nice pass to Schultz for a basket. Levine found Reef for a wing triple and then jetted to the hoop off a geographically favorable Bell rebound/assist. Jonah Eber was everywhere in this game but his finish to the second and third periods of play was nothing short of legendary. He swooped into the passing lane for a steal that made its way to Winton for two more points and then rumbled to the left side of the hoop to cement the 48-9 halftime advantage. A 31% field goal shooting edge, a +25 in rebounding, and 20 assists with 19 forced turnovers made it no surprise that Lakehill was in an enormous hole.
Levine came out blazing in the third quarter with a baseline jumper off the curl from yet another Eber helper for the 50th Yavneh point and then Micah Romaner continued preparations for the Super Bowl with a TD pass from nearly full court off a rebound to Levine. The two co-captains exchanged roles on the next possession as Romaner finished strong at the rim. Levine, who struggled for his standards one night ago, completely took over the third period with a three ball and then an assist to Eber. That basket was initiated by a rebound into the bionic, seemingly infinitely extending arms of Tyler Winton well above the clouds. Eber punctuated the third period with a buzzer-beating acrobatic lefty fingernail tip-in from the right side above the rim. Romaner galloped down the baseline for another finish to begin an all too familiar running clock fourth period for the Bulldogs. Zach Bernstein was busy mentoring Sophomores in the final stanza with two great feeds to Schwaber for an AND NONE power move from the left block and a Winton cut into the lane for a floater that bounced around then in. Schultz, who has really come on in the last couple weeks, finished a freight train drive with contact for a late three-point play as the game was reaching its conclusion. Griffin nearly outscored Lakehill in half a basketball game with 18 points to go along with 7 assists. Pierce Bell added 14 points with 6 rebounds, again missing just a couple shots from the field. Jonah Eber came tantalizingly close to a triple-double with 10 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds. He was sensational in this game which could very well be a spring-board to an amazing run at the end of the season. Mason Schwaber notched 10 points and 7 rebounds as the fourth player to record double figures.
Yavneh (27-0) will have their first shot at the district title Thursday when they wander into an absolute hornets’ nest in Irving, Texas. Highlands, who has the talent to give the Bulldogs fits, will be comfortable at home but knows it needs a win and then some serious help to jump back into this race. Only a week and some change ago this very team came into the SRC and entered the second half in a tie game. Can the Red-and-Black complete a 6-0 road conference run in the most hostile of environments? Will this team officially secure a district title, playoff bye, and a home playoff game? Will the ever-growing Yavneh depth that can only be compared to a sprouting Chia Pet be way too much for Highlands to handle?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR