Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School defeated Yavneh 46-39 Friday morning in DOUBLE overtime at the TAPPS 3A championship game. The loss wraps the Bulldogs historic season at 31-4.
Yavneh capped off their epic season with the most epic of double overtime thrillers as they ran out of gas in the 6th period of the TAPPS 3A championship. Facing 6″9 Luke Schultz, a Senior post on his way to Division 1 NCAA Montana State, the Bulldogs did not seem phased and traded body blows with their opponents for nearly all of 40 minutes. Coming in #1 vs #2 ranked in the state of Texas, these teams fought tooth and nail as both teams sensed how close they were to a State’s championship. It was most definitely a TGIF FRIDAY at long last for the best supporting crowd in the history of the school for a game away from home. Motorcades, caravans, and busloads of Bulldog Nation piled into Abilene Christian High School moments before tip-off. Griffin Levine Jr started the scoring with a pull-up jumper nearly 90 seconds into the contest. For the second straight game at the Texas Final 4, however, Yavneh was ice cold early on. OLH reeled off the next 7 straight points to put them in firm control. An early AND ONE from Schultz was intimidating and put the Bulldogs on the brink of losing contact in this game. Turns out, however, that this was just another sluggish start for the boys from Dallas and once they got into their comfort zone this game became hotly contested. Senior Noah Rubinstein, playing in his final game, probably had the biggest basket of the early going with an own-follow short jumper to ease the tensions. Yavneh started to get going in earnest when Levine splashed another mid-range hit and the team could set their pressure. They ended the first period with a 6-2 run that was punctuated by a Rubinstein block/steal transition opportunity to classmate Daniel Chernikov (also playing in his final game) for a buzzer-beating basket. The 9-8 Kerrville lead was essentially attributed to the rebounding edge with 5 offensive rebounds. In the second period, however, the Bulldogs made their move and had a chance for separation. Levine called high glass on a deep triple to regain the lead for the Red-and-Black at 11-9 right at the outset of the second quarter. Super-sub Pierce Bell, who paved the way for his team to be in this game a day earlier, continued the spurt that was 14-4 in total stretching back to the early minutes of the game. Bell connected from his automatic money mid-range spot and then deposited a wing triple off passes from Rubinstein as well as Levine. With a game-high 16-11 advantage, the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize any further and yielded the final 4 points of the half. The slimmest of 16-15 halftime leads was not the worst thing in the world but the pace of the game was a big time concern. Yavneh’s zone defense baffled Schultz and the Hawks but they could not cash in on the 8 turnovers forced with enough points. The rebounding was squarely on the side of OLH and the shooting for both teams was horrendous.
The third period plan was clearly designed to get Schultz more involved. He scored 4 straight to begin the second half to surge Kerrville back into the lead at 19-16. For the second time it felt as if the game was slipping away from Yavneh and needed a play. Awakened a bit late in his swan song performance, Zach Epstein drained a corner three ball to knot the game at 19 apiece. Chernikov evened the game again moments later on the last of his career patented high post jumpers. The teams went back and forth throwing punch after punch with neither wanting to blink. Levine scooted to the rack around a pair of defenders to re-establish a 1-point Bulldog lead at 23-22 with just 1:12 to play in the third period. Time was like water as the clock continued to move in a defensive war. The Hawks broke through scoring 6 straight points en route to a 28-23 lead heading to the fourth period. It was a pair of late triples by OLH in that third quarter that really put Yavneh in a predicament. Levine set up Chernikov at the rim for a rare inside finish with Schultz patrolling the paint. One place he could not get to was the three point line which Levine had no trouble locating and burying a game tying triple. Just another in a long line of cold-blooded missiles in the breakout year for Griffin Levine, that one was big and left the score 28-28 with 3:18 to go. The drought continued for OLH as the Bulldog run reached 7-0 and got them a late advantage on Levine’s tri-dribble pull-up off an inbounds pass. Travis Reeh buried a three ball for the Hawks to dramatically snatch the lead back for OLH at 31-30 with 1:44 to go. The state championship was exchanging hands on each passing possession, and it seemed as if the last team with the ball would win the game. In a season of heroics by Zachary Epstein, one final clutch moment probably should have secured the state title. His corner three was the ultimate response and never had a chance to go anywhere but a cotton safe-haven inside the rim. The Bulldogs now had a 33-31 edge and only 1:31 separating them from victory. It looked for a brief moment like Yavneh would be able to salt the game away off a carrying turnover by the Hawks but they regained possession on the first of 3 critical Bulldog turnovers that punctured momentum. Jack Groff tied the score on the ensuing possession, leaving Yavneh 49.3 seconds to break a 33-33 deadlock. Another untimely turnover prevented even a shot attempt at the end of regulation and OLH was content to dribble out the last couple seconds of regulation to play for overtime.
In a year that saw the Superbowl go overtime, this championship would go even further. Both teams fell in love with holding the ball and when you have the 6″9 player that is a huge advantage. OLH was able to win the overtime tip and control the ball for two minutes and 35 seconds before they fumbled the ball out of bounds. Without a shot attempt allowed, it was now the Bulldogs turn to put on a dribbling clinic for the capacity crowd filled to the gills at Abilene Christian High School. With fans, alumni, and seemingly the entire world hanging on every play, the drama was unlike anything seen before. Miscommunication on a sideline inbounds traded turnover for turnover in the first overtime period and left Kerrville with one final opportunity. A decent look for the Hawks almost won the game but Groff’s last second jumper crawled around the lip of the rim and fell off into the waning arms of Pierce Bell to guarantee a second overtime session. Schultz finally picked up his first foul of the game less than a minute into the second overtime but unbelievably it took the whole second half and that foul to put Yavneh into the foul bonus. Equally incredible was that the score still was in the low 30s at 33-33 37 minutes into the basketball game. Jake Groff buried the biggest shot of the game, a wing three pointer to break a 6 minute scoring drought in the game 90 seconds into the second overtime session. The free throw disparity was a big factor in the game and 4 more freebies for OLH allowed them to pull away to a 40-33 advantage with 1:45 remaining. With Chernikov fouling out of the game prior to the last of those free throws, the Bulldogs were in full desperation mode. Such a valiant effort looked to be just a bit short as they had just simply run out of gasoline. 42-34 was the game-high lead for either team with 1:10 to go and the magical season for the Red-and-Black was about to come to an end. This team, however, never stops fighting. Rubinstein’s last of so many amazing career assists almost seemed like a metaphorical passing of the torch. He lasered a pass to Freshman Jonah Eber who calmly sank a huge triple to pull Yavneh to within 42-37. After forcing the Hawks into a rushed layup attempt that they really would have been better served to fore-go, Eber had the presence of mind to air assist the basketball back to Rubinstein for the last field goal of his career. More importantly, the Bulldogs were within 42-39 with 29.4 seconds remaining and were right back in the ball game…somehow. Their last ditch furious rally, however, would come to a screeching halt when a timeout was granted to OLH after 11.4 seconds had passed with the ball still in the back-court. The 2 second time zone difference between Abilene and the rest of the world was the most logical culprit in preventing that violation call from being called but it was the break the Hawks needed to hold off Yavneh by the skin of their teeth. 4 free throws closed out the Bulldogs and left them just short of winning a state title on this Friday afternoon but this game was a bookend to a tremendous season. Griffin Levine scored 14 more points to finish with 634 on the season. His performance in the Final 4 earned him a spot on the all-tournament team. Pierce Bell and Daniel Chernikov also both received all-tournament team honors, each finishing with 6 points in this game. Also of note, the Bulldog defense held Luke Schultz to just 12 points on only 8 field goal attempts. His 14 rebounds, however, and defensive presence made it difficult for Yavneh to score at their normal pace specifically on the interior.
In the end, it was the several little things that hurt the most and denied a Jewish high school to finally win a state title. On the flip side, though, it is the big huge ginormous things that this basketball team accomplished that will be remembered for decades and beyond. Yavneh (31-4) had the most successful season in its history without question. This group won 2 tournaments, a district title, and got further than any TAPPS team before them. They climbed the mountain and made an elusive State appearance, and it took 2 overtimes just to deny them a state title. This team boasted an 88.6% winning percentage, the greatest in the history of the school. Their 33 wins is second most of any team in the 22-year history of the school as well, a record which is nearly impossible to break with the games limitations within TAPPS. For the trio of outstanding Seniors, each of which played 3 years in the Varsity program, this season was everything they worked so hard for. A 78-27 3-season record is ridiculous in and off itself but to go out with the run they had this last season is a credit to the characters of these three student athletes. All three Seniors were unanimous First Team ALL DISTRICT selections. Noah Triipp Rubinstein finished his career Friday with 662 points, 491 rebounds, 310 assists, and 243 steals. Billed 3 years ago in this publication as a complete combination of talent, knowledge of the game, and court presence, this versatile player was the likes of which we may never see again with 200+ of every major statistic. He could do pretty much anything on a basketball court and opponents had no answer for his smorgasbord of skills. The greatest free safety never to play a High school football down, Rubinstein was a catalyst for everything this team did night in and night out. Daniel Chernikov scored 906 points and pulled down 502 rebounds in 3 years of commanding the posts for the Bulldogs. Chernikov was best known for his ability to punish defenders at the rim but also step out and be automatic from the mid-range area. The offense was always run through DC21 as he was a match-up nightmare for opponents around the nation…and Texas but add 2017 Defensive Player of the Year for District 3 to his resume as well. Zachary Epstein wont blow you away with statistics but make no mistake that his heroics will never be forgotten. His 211 points (361 career), including 45 triples this season, were essential to what this team needed to do offensively. Epstein had some of the most timely performances in school history, including a Baltimore final that will never be forgotten, several district games that swung on his corner marksmanship, and playoff games where he was Clutch City. In addition to one last contribution to the Epstein family offensive rebound gene, there is no question that Epstein and Erez Krengel now share a spot at the top of the clutch performers list in Yavneh lore.
From finality comes hope for the future, which for this basketball program, is brighter than 11 hours on a June day in Yuma, Arizona. Griffin Levine is already in the discussion among the greatest players we have seen at Yavneh. Named District MVP for 2017, a 1st team All-District selection, and showcasing an infinite array of skills the likes of which has never donned a Bulldog jersey, Levine is like a Chia Pet basketball player that gets better with every passing day…and drop of water. After an off-season of perfecting his game, playing on the Maccabi USA National team, and studying how to elevate his team to the next level, this could be a legendary upcoming 2017-18 for Levine Sr. Already with 878 points and 252 assists, it will be interesting to see how deep into the 1000 point/300 assist club Levine climbs during his final act. Pierce Bell settled into the Sixth man role this season and was flat-out electric. 2nd Team All-district honors are evidence that Bell may be in store for a special Senior season. His comparisons to JR Smith and a microwave are well-founded as no one provides instant offense like this rising Junior. 215 points, 43% three point shooting, and a Final 4 in which he burst into the public spotlight, Bell will be a huge determining factor in the success of next year. Micah Romaner is ready to replace Chernikov as the next Bulldog primary post and will need to replace a ton of scoring down low. Romaner has been brilliant at times and shown flashes of greatness as evidenced by his Honorable Mention All-District selection. His 102 points and 151 rebounds impacted most games in 2016 but the workload is about to increase 10-fold. He will now be counted on to be more than the defensive stopper he has gotten so adept at and will be a huge factor in the success of a team that expects to duplicate the magic. Jonah Eber played big minutes as a Freshman, only the second player in recent years to be a full season Varsity player. His ability to drive to the hoop, knock down jump shots, and be the pesky defender that helped this team tremendously the past season earned a 2nd team All-District selection, District Freshman of the Year honors, and has Eber on his way to stardom. 156 points, 75 assists, and 63 steals are numbers that will at least triplicate as Eber marches on to do damage as a rare 4-year Bulldog varsity superstar. Eli Minsky’s hustle and energy to go along with a developing jump shot will be important to the continued success of this program. Minsky is ready to impact this team like never before with his wide range of offensive and defensive skills. With 50+ points and rebounds in his rookie varsity season, the Red Rocket is ready to take flight in full gear. JV call-ups Zach Bernstein and Tyler Winton were a huge part of the playoff success for this basketball team with their energy, support, and tenacious game preparation assistance. Bernstein’s ability to slash to the hoop will no doubt be a welcome offensive key to next season. His athleticism will be a terror for TAPPS and other opponents in the 2 years to come, and he undoubtedly will be next man up among a long list of Yavneh basketball kleptomaniacs. Winton is next in line to be a legendary Bulldog guard. His ability to be a knockdown shooter combined with his freakish speed, athleticism, and uncanny anticipation skills will undoubtedly produce a superstar in the trifecta of years to come. The next generation of players ready to step up from the bullet-proof carbyne farm system known to most as the Junior Varsity machine will be a huge part of the upcoming season. The biggest of those prospects is ever-growing Mason Schwaber who will be a factor on the inside for the next 3 seasons. Schwaber has an eerily similar inside/outside combo game working like a certain Chernikov character that was so important to the success of the last 3 seasons. Several others could be factors in the next 2 years depending on their off-season development including post Seth Gerstenfeld, rising athletic wings Nachi Zucker and Ezra Ruderman, and budding guards of the future Reece Parker, Ben Levkovich, Sammy Nurko, and THE Elias Lopez. The Eber/Cohen Chai Force breeding ground has secured a pipeline stronger than ever. With strong incoming 8th graders and 3-9 classes even younger than that chomping at the bit to enter the program, the next decade+ will include endless possibilities.
Does this group of 3 soon-to-be Seniors that has tasted so much success already find a way to fill the voids left by the departure of Chernikov, Epstein, and Rubinstein? Can the 7 players that now know what it takes to get through to the Final 4 retool and get back for a second crack at the championship? Will they defend their Baltimore tournament championship and district title? Will there be a return to Sarachek to test the new generation of Bulldogs against the national Jewish high school landscape after a 3-year hiatus? How high can The Great Griffin Levine fly and what factor will the emergence of Pierce Bell as a superstar do for this team? Will the new set of posts continue the run of Bulldog paint dominance? Can next year’s talent-filled underclassmen guards do what the Media has ordained to be their destiny????
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, concluding its 13th season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack CTDC M&M
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