Oakridge defeated Yavneh 63-50 Thursday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 14-5.
Oakridge completely turned the tables on what has been Yavneh’s strongest quarter coming out of halftime to the tune of a 15-2 run Thursday. Another physical contest went south on the Bulldogs when their offense was completely shut down for a 4.5 minute stretch in that anemic third period. Against a bigger team with a 6’6 superstar that turned out to be too much to overcome.
On the road in a hostile environment, Junior Jordan Prescott picked up right where he left off Tuesday with 6 quick points on a pair of early triples. He was on again early and that spear-headed the start that was absolutely needed given the environment. Oakridge star player James Pegues got off to a quick start as well with 5 early points but 3 first half fouls sat him squarely on the bench early and often. Oakridge got easy transition points to grab a 16-12 lead after one period of play. Prescott connected with fellow scorer Elan Kogutt on a sly behind-the-back pass to keep the game close but it was simply a case of Yavneh’s outside attack not quite being able to keep up with Oakridge’s point blank opportunities.
Prescott and Kogutt exploded in the second quarter to kick the Bulldogs in gear. With Pegues now on the bench for the duration of the first half, the two Yavneh trigger-men were getting good looks and carrying the team while turning over Oakridge at a very helpful rate. In fact, no other Yavneh player scored in the first half as Prescott recorded 16 points and Kogutt the other 10. Transition opportunities had seesawed the lead into the Bulldogs favor at 26-24 by halftime. Yavneh had held their own on the boards, in shooting percentages, and in turnovers. Both teams have a recent history for putting on big time third period runs and the question was which team was going to gain control on this night.
Essentially, Yavneh could not score for the first 4:28 of the second half. A rested and motivated Pegues was back and started to carve up the Bulldogs on transition opportunities created by bad offense from the road team. Kogutt briefly scored to stop the run and end the drought but by the end of the third stanza Oakridge was firmly in control at 43-32. The bad shot selection and inability to extend the lead with Oakridge’s key players on the bench had finally caught up with Yavneh’s two man show. What was missing more than anything else was the contributions from the entire team as a whole over the last 13 games. While four players not named Prescott or Kogutt scored 2 points each, many of those were in garbage time and did not help the cause. Mainstay freshmen Adam Karnett and Itai Guttman seemed uncharacteristically timid and/or confused for the first time all season. Additionally, a trio of ball handlers seemed befuddled by a porous half court trap which ultimately should be credited for the Yavneh demise.
The Bulldogs fought hard right down to the very end, raising their level in the final period. Another stretch with no points to start the quarter prevented any serious comeback threat but several encouraging plays gave plenty of reasons why Oakridge could be in trouble when they return to Dallas for the re-match. Junior Kevin Sulski’s scrappy play netted him a steal and a layup on one occasion, and also a nice sequence where he not only fended off a defender connected to his back but was also able to turn the play into a tactful assist. Karnett finally got to the rim late as Kogutt and Prescott had been doing for much of the game. Shot selection needed to be dissected no more than comparing 4/17 three point shooting with 16/21 from the free throw line for the Bulldogs. It was no surprise that the greater success was attacking the rim as opposed to launching from the outside. Prescott led the Bulldogs with 22 points while Kogutt bounced back with 20 of his own, including 12/13 from the free throw line. With anybody else going well, Prescott’s firepower and Kogutt’s aggressive play should have been enough. But Pegues recovered to explode for 22 in the second half for a game-high 27.
While a third quarter implosion probably ruined what was to be a nail-biting finish, there is no time to dwell on the past. Yavneh (14-5) gets their revenge shot at Celina coming up on Tuesday. Celina abused a short-handed Bulldogs group on the offensive boards just a week ago and figures to get a much better punch this time around. Yavneh has not lost multiple games in a row since the very first week of the season in November.
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
MWJR? 3-9