Yavneh defeated Leadership Prep School of Frisco 57-46 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 6-1.
Leadership Prep seemed to have won this game in pre-game warmups. After all, they were holding their own slam dunk contest with no less than 4 players, showcased a player even taller than Mason Schwaber, and introduced a shooter coming off a 50+ point scoring game and an alleged offer last week to play for SMU all as a Sophomore. Yavneh, without 6 players from their roster including starting Senior Captain Elmers Glue award recipient Jonah Eber, was written off even before a ball was passed, dribbled, shot, or most importantly turned over on this night. But as we have learned over the years…THAT IS WHY THEY PLAY THE GAMES. The Bulldogs stifled Leadership Prep with their patented trapping zone defense while forcing 23 turnovers, debuted their own version of the Splash Brothers with Jason Prager and Tyler Winton combing for 39 points on sizzling 10/18 three point shooting, and held up down low courtesy of the Mason Schwaber/Avery Levy combo against a massive Lions front line. If the game was over before the game, people were streaming to the exits after 2-0 and 4-2 leads for Leadership Prep. They scored at the rim, which appeared to be available to them all night long if they could get the ball there. Meanwhile, Ben Rael’s basket for Yavneh was an underwhelming chuck floater that was skilled and clutch but also alarmingly passive in trying to avoid perceived blocked shots. As good as the defense would be, the Bulldogs benefited the most early in this game by getting to every loose ball and seeing shots go in. A Tyler C Winton offensive rebound positioned the Senior guard in a spot almost at half-court where he wouldn’t dream of doing anything but rifle up a moon ball. It struck nothing but the bottom of the net and a sense of calm permeated the building as if something special was going to happen regardless of what eyes and perceptions were telling them. The defense started to fly, notching multiple deflections and making the Lions look uncomfortable. Schwaber found Prager for a wing triple for 6 points in two quick offensive trips and then Avery Levy both took a courageous charge and craftily scored with his left to secure a 10-4 lead. The 8-0 run for the home team caught LPS off guard and it was affecting them mentally and at both ends of the court. They had endless amounts of athleticism but just could not safely feed the ball inside where they had a size advantage in numbers. Levy fed a dart to Schwaber at the rim for a strong finish over enormous Josh King-Walker and Winton was in pure McBuckets mode in this contest, pilfering a basketball and swooping to the hoop for 14-6. The Bulldogs forced 11 turnovers in the first period alone, making the Lions look like there was an invisible force field on the outside. CJ Luster, the star guard who has parking lot range, could barely get his hands on the ball with a shooting opportunity in this first half. Schwaber completed another post move over King-Walker to begin the second quarter for a double-digit lead at 16-6. Every time it seemed like maybe Yavneh was in some trouble off a rare but loud LPS field goal a Splash Brother or two stepped up with a huge long distance dedication. Hillel Baynash found Prager for a trifecta and then Schwaber rifled a pass for another TW3 straight-away but very deep triple for critical points while the Lions were trying to find themselves. In fact, a 5-0 spurt from Leadership Prep got them to within 19-13 in what seemed like a shift in momentum until Winton responded with the latest score x 3. All the Bulldogs did was respond with a first-half ending 9-0 explosion to solidify an outstanding opening 16 minutes. Schwaber delivered on a tip follow and an assist to Levy for a sweet elbow jumper. Elisha Klein, only beginning his weekend, secured a great steal on the sideline, and provided energy to this most-important run. Rael, known to his growing fan club throughout North America as 3D, was more D than 3 in this game, and made a great steal/assist to Levy to complete the run. 28-13 was indeed the halftime advantage for Yavneh behind 17 forced turnovers, 31% field goal defense, and a performance that made Leadership Prep confused and despondent.
It looked for a moment that Yavneh would completely run the Lions off their gym floor as Prager found Levy for a baseline hit and a 30-13 healthy lead. The ensuing defensive possession would bring history as Tyler C Mc Buckets TW3 etc Winton became Josh Karnett for one shining moment. He stepped in front of a Lion drive and took the most majestic and only charge of his storied career. As he hit the ground, birds chirped, seagulls sang, and the world achieved maximum peace for one glorious moment. It also may have awoken CJ Luster and the Leadership Prep Lions. Luster came alive and finally lived up to his billing with long distance rockets from every spot on the court, some well beyond aggressive Winton range. Meanwhile, it was Yavneh who became shell-shocked, forcing ill-advised offense and suddenly not getting to any of the loose balls that had helped to build this masterpiece. A 14-1 LPS explosion put the Bulldogs on the brink of a third-period epic collapse for the ages. Needing a response, the Bulldogs turned to their clutch guard Pistol Prager, who similar to Saturday night, delivered in triplicate. This time around, Winton threw a great pass to the Junior transfer for a physical AND ONE finish while taking oodles of contact. With the lead back to 7 points at 34-27, the momentum had shifted again but the third period would have one final dramatic turn as its buzzer sounded. Schwaber scooped up a rebound in the final seconds and alertly darted an outlet pass to Winton, who then deposited a last second missile into the basket as the horn interrupted the leather to silk connection. 6-0 from Prager and Winton to end the period was devastating to a team that had almost climbed the mountain. Despite the size, athleticism, and talent, these were high school kids and what they were dealing with in this gym on this night was simply too much for them. With the Red-and-Black rolling front running once again, Prager’s floater off glass completed the latest 8-0 spurt and a 39-27 edge after the lead was trimmed to 4 points. As great as the defense was for most of the game, the fourth period became more of a shootout between Prager, Winton, and Luster. At one point, six consecutive three balls were made in this game between the three hot shooters. Reece Parker set up long-time classmate Winton for a timely connection when the lead shrunk to as few as 7 points in the exchange but Pistol Prager was WHITE HOT down the stretch, with assists from Winton and Schwaber. Klein gobbled up a big rebound late and Rael/Levy helped Schwaber hold down the fort inside the painted area late in this game. One final Lions push cut their deficit to 51-43 but Prager delivered the dagger three ball, also his final of the night, to make the score 54-43 with exactly 1:00 to play. Jason Prager delivered 25 points on 6/10 three point shooting while Tyler Winton added 14 points on 4/8 downtown shooting to go along with 5 assists and steals. Avery Levy was spectacular with a 9 point/9 assist effort as he continues to be a big catalyst for this team in the absence of Eber. Mason Schwaber’s 6 points were upstaged by a monster 14 rebound effort which was a large part of this victory. He also notched 6 assists while Ben Rael’s 5 rebounds were also much needed in this defensive effort for the ages.
Yavneh (6-1) got another signature win against a very formidable opponent in many aspects. They impressively shut down some great individual talent by making them play as individuals who could not solve a defense that was flying. With the confidence offensively and riding this defensive momentum, the Bulldogs enter an important stretch of their season. Up next awaits DISD Class 5A rivals Thomas Jefferson and Sunset for an exciting Thanksgiving Week slate beginning Monday night.
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR
PTST3