Molina 62-63

Molina defeated Yavneh 63-62 Tuesday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 10-3.

Yavneh surrendered a late 5 point advantage, dramatically evened the score with less than a second to play, and in the end suffered arguably the most dramatic loss in school history Tuesday. Trailing 4-0 not a minute into the game, Junior scoring sensation Elan Kogutt realized his recent play had to improve in order to compensate for not only a tough public school opponent but also the loss of Senior Captain Miles Pulitzer (hand injury) and Sophomore Jake Greif (broken nose). Unlike his passive play of the previous three games, Kogutt came out with undaunted aggressiveness all evening. Taking the ball right at Molina’s 6 foot 4 interior post, Kogutt set the tone early and often. It was almost out of respect for Greif, whose nose succumbed to a bulldozer collision while stepping in to take a charge late in the loss to Shelton. The bigger Molina could not take advantage in the rebounding category at all, and even with fairly even shooting early, Yavneh dug themselves a decent hole via the turnover. 8 first quarter giveaways led to nearly all there Molina scoring all leading to an 18-11 first quarter Bulldog deficit. The turnovers were not just your garden variety travel or ball thrown out of bounds either. On the contrary, most were lob pass turnovers that were picked off right out of the air for easy transition opportunities. Yavneh spent the majority of the second stanza chipping away at a lead that was never surrendered in the opening half. The most frustrating part was that Molina rarely scored vs. the Yavneh defense when it was set as opposed to chasing off of more and more fatal gifts. When they weren’t turning the ball over, Kogutt and buddy scorer Sophomore Jordan Prescott were doubling as proficient offensive contributors. Each reached double figures in the first half, and that’s the only reason the Bulldogs trailed by only a single point (32-31) at halftime. Senior Joe Lerer and Sophomore Reid Cohen played well and equalized the Pulitzer absence. Meanwhile, Sophomore Post Ben Romaner played the half of his life on the boards, swallowing 7 huge rebounds and totally negating any rebounding advantage Molina thought they had. He also contributed offensively with an important free throw line jumper drained while ingesting contact for a three-point play. If not for the turnovers, Yavneh would have been in control but there were 12 leading to a bevy of Molina’s points. It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to capture its first lead 37 seconds into the third quarter. As Kogutt completed an old-fashion three point play toppling over the body of a fouling Molina defender, Yavneh had completed a 26-16 run spanning two quarters and now led 37-34. The teams then proceeded to trade 6-0 runs over the next 3 minutes, Yavneh’s coming courtesy entirely of Jordan Prescott differing three point plays (while winking of course) and the game was undoubtedly on. Kogutt used the final 180 seconds of the third period to allow his aggressiveness to establish a game-high 8 point lead for the Bulldogs. He was attacking like never before, and the team’s free throw numbers were proof of it. After three periods, Yavneh held a 6 point lead on the scoreboard and a dominating 18-2 lead in free throw attempts. Rather than Molina’s claims of bad refereeing, it was Kogutt’s will to get to the basket that surged the Bulldogs to the lead. All the great work on the boards was erased in a heartbeat in the final period. While Molina’s long post Rodriguez was held in check, it was the guards that were leaking into the lane for second and third chances late. Methodically, Molina went to work on the offensive boards and on several occasions cut Yavneh’s lead to a single point. Kogutt responded, however, with two prime-time moves that really showed his maturity. First, a tough lefty finish off the glass and then a one-handed flip runner both kept the Bulldogs in front down the stretch. Still holding a one-point advantage at 60-59 and in possession of the basketball with 1:01 to play, Yavneh had a chance to be careful with the ball and either run out the clock or get to the free throw line. That is when Senior Josh Karnett embarked on easily the most eventful and dramatic 56.8 seconds of his basketball life. First, he found himself streaking towards the basket and elected to attempt a layup which could have given his team a 3-point lead. The ball spun out and was an unfortunate turn of events because it led to an easy transition opportunity for Molina to take the lead 61-60. The game seemed all but lost when Kogutt’s leaner missed and the Bulldogs were forced to foul with 33.7 seconds to play. Rodriguez missed both free throws but more Bulldog life was sucked out of the building when this time Kogutt’s shot off a well designed spin move did its own spinning around and out of the basket’s rim. Yavneh fouled again with just 2.1 seconds left and this time Molina converted one of two free throws for a 62-60 lead. In a stroke of genius from the Bulldog bench, Karnett did what he does best, taking a planned charge off the inbounds play which would award him 2 potential game-tying free throws. Missing the first chance, Karnett alertly bounced the second shot off the back rim with just enough English for Kogutt to grab the ball and deliver the game tying basket as the clock ticked down to 8 tenths of a second. That left Molina just a catch and shoot opportunity from the length of the court away. Given the drama that had just unfolded and the adrenalin that was prevalent in nearly every person in the gym, it should have come as no surprise that there was 8 tenths of a second too much time remaining on the clock. As the ball sailed three-quarters of the court through the air, bodies positioned themselves quite similar to a last-play heave in any close football game. Just when the basketball contacted Ivan Garcia’s fingertips and bounced away, one last whistle identified the foul that would eliminate Karnett from the final moments of the game and give Molina a pair of shots for the lead with 0.4 seconds to play. Even after the second free throw attempt trickled through the net, Cohen had one last prayer from halfcourt bounce out that apparently would have counted. With so much high drama, mistakes and heroic efforts from both squads, and questionable calls both ways, it was a game that both teams had chances to win or lose and will surely never forget. Kogutt and Prescott carried the team with 31 and 19 points respectively. They got help from four players that played up to the urgency of the situation, and without the turnovers, would have willed the Bulldogs to a really nice win.

Yavneh (10-3) will chew on this one for 14 days before visiting Carrollton’s RL Turner on December 29. The game will present one final opportunity to equal last season’s win total in just one calendar year of the 2009-2010 campaign. With a chip on their shoulder and one more crack at a public school for this season, with or without Pulitzer and/or Greif, the Bulldogs will surely be fired up for that matchup.

The Kennel Report, now in its sixth season, is written by…

Zack Pollack M&M

LF 7-5