Yavneh defeated Nevada Community High School 54-45 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 7-3.
Escaping their ugliest statistical night in recent memory, the Bulldogs got 35 points from scoring threats Elan Kogutt and Jordan Prescott to somehow escape miles from home in Nevada, Texas Monday. A season high 35 turnovers, 19 missed free throws, and 21 offensive rebounds allowed were not enough to halt the New Look Yavneh team’s winning streak, who has still not lost since severely extending the playing rotation last weekend.
For as ugly a game as it would turn out to be, the opening minutes looked like nothing worse than a repeat of the classic slugfest the Bulldogs had with Castleberry to end last season. Nevada wanted to run and push the ball, and Yavneh was all for that early on. Neither team played a lick of transition defense in the first period as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 13-10 lead. Similar to the Run and Gun style that Yavneh themselves played just a few seasons ago, Nevada desperately wanted to scramble the game with high pressure defense, quick deep shots, and a relentless pursuit of the offensive boards. For the better part of the first half, the Bulldogs took the bait and played at Nevada’s pace. Jordan Prescott’s 9 first quarter points included a three point bomb from halfway down the farm road that housed the gymnasium but it was that same success that poisoned the minds of the road team. Prescott found Kogutt on a laser beam pass to extend the Bulldog lead to 21-15 followed by Freshman Adam Karnett’s steal and subsequent layup to solidify an 11 point halftime lead at 33-22. The score was great but the warning signs were all there. 17 first half turnovers left an uneasy feeling as Nevada simply did not take advantage of nearly any of them. It was unlikely that an opponent would continue to shoot at such a low percentage (17%) for the entire game. It was a good thing that when Yavneh was not turning the ball over they did some scoring towards the end of the first half because it would be seven minutes into the second half before they would scratch the surface again.
Nevada grinded out a 10-0 run to open the third period over a 7:10 stretch. The Bulldogs were turning the ball over at an alarming rate, managing 12 giveaways during that time frame. On the rare occasion that Nevada fouled before Yavneh had the chance to obtain a gift receipt, missed free throws became the new fad. A Jake Greif free throw and a Kogutt layup were the only points in the entire quarter but Nevada missed on 4 straight attempts that would have netted them a lead for the first time since 2-0. As the final 8 minutes started, Kogutt immediately answered the call with a tough lay-in amidst traffic, and Karnett followed with a rumble down the court to rebuild the lead at 42-35. Prescott’s dagger three ball made the lead double digits once again, and despite a quick 5-0 answer from Nevada and the 3/18 free throw display that would follow, Yavneh was going to survive the drought, the holiday gift exchange, and the clinic on how not to shoot free throws. Nevada got the Bulldogs to play their style but just could not put the ball in the ocean, especially when momentum dictated that they needed a basket most. For a team that shot mostly three pointers, 2/16 was not going to get it done. On all other nights, Yavneh’s inability to get out of their own way would have led to disaster…But on this night, their missed free throws were accompanied by 14 misfires by the opponent, their 35 giveaways were equalized by all the quick Nevada downtown clangs, and the 21 offensive rebounds given up never materialized as points down the stretch. Kogutt and Prescott did just enough shooting 50% each with 20 and 15 points respectively. Kogutt also picked up 11 rebounds for the double-double while Prescott had 8 impressive assists to complement his scoring efforts. Junior Jake Greif and Kevin Sulski added 9 rebounds apiece, who like Kogutt needed that to atone for mistakes in other statistical columns.
Yavneh (7-3) will play DISD 5A Sunset Public High School Tuesday evening at home. Likely to see similar pressure defensive tactics, the Bulldogs will have to fix all three negative categories in order to stay in the game and keep the winning streak alive.
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
MWJR? 3-9