Yavneh defeated McKinney Christian Academy 56-40 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an unerring 5-0.
The Yavneh drama department might want to look at the horror genre for an upcoming production after their school’s boys basketball team prevailed Tuesday. 96 total rebounds, 87 missed shots, 38 combined turnovers, and 6/37 three point shooting lowlighted a night in which the Bulldogs and the Mustangs slugged their way to the finish. Yavneh once again did enough in the opening 4 minutes to erase any doubt in terms of outcome and coasted to victory for a 5th straight time, albeit over turbulent and choppy waters. McKinney Christian had to figure they were in trouble with a turnover less than 5 seconds into the basketball game. Junior transfer Ofek Reef declared GO-fek early on, bodying up for a quick three point play at the basket and then feeding Senior Pierce Bell in transition for 5-0. Reef and Bell were unconscious to start this game with steals and finishes four different times in the opening two minutes of play. A 9-0 advantage for the Bulldogs 78 seconds into the game left the visitors reeling and searching for any positive vibe they could muster. 5 turnovers did not help the cause but through 5 games no team has been able to cope with the talent of Yavneh’s Big Three to start the game. Griffin Levine Sr threaded a great pass to Jonah Eber for a finish at the rim for the first non-Reef/Bell points of the night. Bell wasn’t just throwing punches at the offensive end on this night, as he took yet another charge for the fourth time in five games. As it was, a 20-7 Yavneh lead through one period of play was fueled by Bell’s 10 points, 12 forced turnovers, and playing the role of lead Cat Burglar Micah Romaner. The Senior Co-Captain post recorded 4 steals in the opening stanza to go along with a massive rebound. Three pointers were hard to come by in this game but Eli Minsky found Reef in the corner the one that found a home out of 16 attempts on the night to push the lead to 31-12 early in the second period. The Mustangs were victimized as well by the blocked shot, specifically in the first half. With the game stagnating in that second period it was exhilarating for the crowd to be entertained by a punctuating rejection and subsequent rebound courtesy of Sophomore super-hero Mason SchwaberASER. In fact, the Sophomore trio of Eber, Schwaber, and Tyler Winton all recorded blocked shots during the initial 16 minutes of this basketball game. In an epic minute for Schwaber he also found himself the recipient of a luxury pass from Griffin Levine for two points at the basket. 35-15 was the advantage for halftime behind double digits from Reef and Bell, exquisite passing from Levine, and 18 forced turnovers.
McKinney tried to mount a rally in the second half but never could gain much traction. Reef finished a baseline drive and a steal for layup to score the second half’s initial four points. Senior Seth Gerstenfeld took a big charge and grabbed 4 offensive rebounds with great activity. There was one possession that the Bulldogs seemed to turn the tide on their rebounding struggles (35 offensive rebounds allowed in the last two games) to the tune of 5 second chances in one trip. Cruising to a 50-19 lead through three periods of play behind the Levine/Bell/Reef combo that was anything but slowed down on this occasion, Yavneh stumbled their way to the finish. McKinney’s 21-6 fourth period barrage was mostly due to a lack-luster and disinterested Bulldog group that had seemed to check out when the game reached the 25-30 point margin plateau. Make no mistake, however….McKinney Christian, their 4A TAPPS classification, and their 3 out of 4 game winning streak at the hands of the Bulldogs were no match for a team playing on a different level. Pierce Bell engineered a masterful double-double with 18 points/12 rebounds to lead the way and was not even the team’s high scorer. Ofek Reef tallied a game-high 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Griffin Levine added 11 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds to make it 48 points for the trio in a contest that none of them sniffed 20 minutes of action. Also of note, Mason Schwaber pulled down 7 rebounds in his best career game to this point.
Yavneh (5-0) has yet to be tested and much of that is a testament to their early blitzes in these games. The next week, however, brings the DISD 5A public school circuit to the Bulldogs world. A tough road game at Thomas Jefferson where the Red-and-Black fell just 2 years ago followed by their annual rivalry game with Sunset highlights Thanksgiving Week. Will the Bulldogs head to Baltimore at 7-0 to defend their tournament title? Will two more opponents fail to make it to even the first round bell in a one-sided boxing match? Can the depth of this team step up in its first test without a member of the Big Three next week in Pierce Bell (vacation)? Can this group continue to overcome rebounding issues with an ability to force turnovers at a rate rarely seen before in the history of this sport?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR