Mc Kinney Christian defeated Yavneh 66-60 Monday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 10-7.
Mc Kinney Christian broke Yavneh’s 3 game winning streak and the Bulldogs’ spirits with a late fourth quarter run that left players and fans stunned despite watching the two teams turn the ball over 19 times apiece. Unlike the first meeting, the pace was frenetic from the start and the increased scoring proved that. From a game in which no team got out of the 40’s, this one was played with both teams finishing in the 60’s. The Bulldogs started the night a mere 8% on their way to Covenantesque heights with an 8-0 burst from the outset. Mc Kinney turned the ball over and Yavneh was there to capitalize. All was well until MKC turned the tables in a heartbeat and countered with their own opening period 10-0 run. It was such an exciting first 8 minutes that Freshman post Ben Romaner wanted to enter the game with his shooting shirt on. Needless to say, the game was too quick for both teams early. The 13 combined first period takeaways caused each team to feel alright about a 16-15 lead for the visitors. More of the same in quarter #2. Yavneh grabbed the one point halftime lead as both teams continued to be careless with the basketball. The Bulldogs were outshot 47 to 41% mainly because they were taking outside shots while MKC was busy feasting on the inside. That would prove to be the game breaker as that particular trend devastatingly continued down the stretch. Sophomore scorer Elan Kogutt was on in the opening half, collecting 15 points (nearly all of which from the outside). Junior Captain Josh Karnett took yet another charge in the first half as is becoming a per game ritual. The game stayed tight throughout the third period as the game got physical. Karnett beat the buzzer to end the third straight quarter with a one point differential either way. He trimmed the MKC lead to a single point and probably should have been shooting for the tie after getting blasted to the ground as he finished. As it was, though, the game continued to go back and forth. Mc Kinney owned the real estate at the Yavneh defensive basket, particularly in the final period. Meanwhile, it was “Jump Shot City” for the Bulldogs and they fell early in the fourth. Freshman Reid Cohen connected on a three pointer that used most of the rim to tie the game at 46-46 midway through the quarter. That middle section of an emotional final stanza was owned, however, by classmate Jordan Prescott. The Late Show put his stamp on the game with a go-ahead old-fashioned three point play and then taking a charge sandwiched between 3 big time steals. The Bulldogs could not extend to more than the three point lead and MKC countered with the game-changing run that proved to be fatal. 8-0 was the bulge off some final critical turnovers and marches right at the Yavneh goal once again. Yavneh was able to counter-punch a small 5-1 spurt behind Senior Captain William Zalstein’s halfcourt save which ended up in the hands of Kogutt for an easy deuce. Prescott was flying all over the place and the Bulldogs actually tied the game again at 55-55 with 1:55 to play. But the groaning of the Yavneh bench was a pre-cursor of things to come as Scott Temple (team-high 17 points) released what proved to be the game-winning three pointer on a late Bulldog rotation with 1:45 remaining. Zalstein did all he could late with a beautiful scoop shot and a lot of defensive intensity but trading baskets down by 3 was only passable until the Bulldogs imploded in the final 50 seconds. 2 breakaway layups gave MKC a 64-57 lead and Prescott’s three ball from the top to make the score 64-60 was only window dressing on a game in the books. Kogutt led all scorers with 25 points but his team’s inability to get high percentage shots late really hurt. It seemed as if Yavneh was being forced way too far from the basket while giving their opponent a red carpet to the rim. Zalstein had another 8 assists, giving him 15 in the last two games while Prescott had a great all-around game as mentioned (14 points).
Yavneh (10-7) is off until next Tuesday when they re-match THESA. The Bulldogs will need to be ready for a hungry group out for revenge after a close Yavneh win last week.
The Kennel Report, now in its fifth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M