Yavneh defeated Frisco Legacy Christian 56-39 Saturday night in a TAPPS 3A Round of 16 AREA playoff game. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 32-4.
Senior David Rudomin scampered to a career-high 20 points, Sam Kleinman tied his own single-game assists record, and Yavneh paraded into the TAPPS 3A quarterfinals with a decisive 17 point victory Saturday night. It was all Adam Schor from the beginning with a free throw and an own follow for a 3-0 Bulldog start. Legacy Christian answered with a 5-0 spurt, accounting for their only lead of the entire game. Another pair of field goals from Schor gave him the first 7 Yavneh points and more importantly began the key 11-0 run that established a working margin. It was nearly 4 minutes into the game when Kleinman delivered a quick baseline drive for the first points by any Bulldog player not named Adam Schor. Yavneh then unleashed the left hand artillery on their bench as Steve Levine once again sparkled. An open court steal enabled Levine to find David Rudomin for his first points on a juggling finish with contact. He then found Kleinman for a wing triple, completing the 11-0 outburst at 14-5 as well as later connecting on a rhythm jumper. Legacy would respond with 5 straight points back but the first period ended at 18-9 in favor of the home team. Senior Captain Sam Kleinman was seeing the court well on this night, and found both Itai Guttman and Rudomin for early second period layups. The lead ballooned to 22-9 at that point and Legacy Christian could not get anything going outside of sharp-shooter Mitchell Wilson. On a key possession midway through the second quarter, Itai Guttman was able to find Rudomin amongst heavy traffic and the ball loose on the floor. As the game got scrappy, Senior Jason Epstein found his comfort zone and gathered 4 tough rebounds down the first half stretch. Kleinman ended the half with two finds of Schor for 7 total first half assists. The last of those finishes was a high arching rainbow that somehow managed to roll home and with it a 30-20 halftime advantage. Schor tallied 13 first half points to lead the way. The Bulldogs held a 23-12 lead on the boards, turned the ball over just 5 times, and both teams combined to shoot 2/15 from long distance. Games like this usually see an early third period spurt from Yavneh but instead the game really tightened to begin the second half. A 5-1 Eagles run started to raise uncertainty as to the outcome of this playoff game. In what was probably the most important 4 point response of the season, Itai Guttman tipped home a fourth straight outside misfire to begin the second half and then Levine found Rudomin for a curling lane floater. A 12-2 game defining Bulldog run continued as Kleinman found Rudomin on the next trip for a laser three point play. The two would connect again in the same way as Rudomin drilled a three ball for 7 straight points from the Senior defensive stopper. The score had suddenly become 41-27 and the knockout punch was fast approaching. Typically known for his exceptional defense versus his offensive output, Rudomin’s jersey number 0 was begging for a number to be added in front of it this Saturday night. Kleinman’s no-look wrap-around pass to Itai Guttman gave Yavneh a game-high 16 point lead but Wilson was doing everything he could to keep Legacy in the game. A late third period three pointer seized some momentum and LC was able to muddy the game one final time in hopes of an epic comeback. A 10-4 run lead almost exclusively by Wilson diced the lead to 47-37 with 5:51 to play. Having bogged down on offense, Kleinman knew his Bulldogs needed a spark. A critical but rare block for the team leader on a straight-away three pointer set himself up for assist #12 on the night. This one was extra special as he got to feed his Little Big Man classmate Jason Epstein at the rack for a back-breaking layup that danced around and in. The 49-37 score was a relief to a packed building that finally started to feel that the game was in hand. For those that needed one more possession to buy in, Steve Levine emerged from a half-court scrum to spot Schor in close for 51-37. Levine rebounded the game clincher moments later and the exclamation mark was basically a quick game summary: Kleinman to Rudomin for a 13th record-tying assist and the 2 points that notched a personal career high for the recipient. The Red and Black gritted out a hard fought win and refused to take much of anything for free as they shot 8/19 from the free throw line including front end misses on all three second half one-and-ones. David Rudomin’s 20 points led all scorers and added a whole new dimension to the offense. Adam Schor added 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as well to go along with a trio of intense blocked shots. Sam Kleinman dished out the 13 assists while Steve Levine had 5 helpers of his own. Also of note, Itai Guttman had an 8 point/8 rebound night and blocked a shot for his 200th career rejection.
Yavneh (32-4) has taken care of business at home and is into the TAPPS 3A Quarterfinals. While history was very supportive of this feat, the Bulldogs will now look to advance into the State Semifinals for the very first time. Having dispatched one pesky Eagles team, a more daunting challenge awaits Tuesday in Lubbock Christian’s Eagles. Defending state champion LCH is an offensive juggernaut that has rolled over every TAPPS 3A opponent that has come in their path this season. If 59 first half points in their 93-52 Area playoff romp over Bethesda Christian earlier in the day is not enough to set this heavyweight bout up, maybe the #1 vs #2 TABC 3A rankings of the two teams will be. Both teams feature big men that can both score and run the floor as well as a smorgasbord of guards that can shoot from anywhere. To make the match-up even more intriguing, this North vs West Texas shootout will likely take place at the exact midpoint of the 346 mile separation of the schools: Abilene, Texas. Can Yavneh make Lubbock Christian pay for the bullying press that has embarrassed team after team this season? Which set of bigs can establish their dominance? Which set of guards will control the game? Will the Bulldogs get to the State Final 4 in Fort Worth next weekend?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its tenth season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack
M&M TL-BW-SP-BR