Panama High School (OK) defeated Yavneh 71-61 Friday morning. The loss evens the Bulldogs record at 5-5.
Thursday night, in far away Wilburton (OK), Eastern Oklahoma State College post Jessica Hays used brute strength to punish a smaller Arkansas community college (Cowley) team. Mere hours later, Yavneh had had their chance to gain revenge on the state of Oklahoma for the rest of the nation. Ironically, though, Panama’s Public High School used their own muscle to push around a Bulldog squad that could not quite wake up Friday morning in Garland, TX. From the opening tip, it was more than clear that this Yavneh team had not yet seen the likes of over-sized cattle in these parts. Kyle Tiffee stormed the Bulldog basket to tip in a rare Panama miss off the opening tip. It was just one of nine easy, point-blank opportunities he would convert. Over-sized and a step slow all morning, Yavneh did what they could. 20-12 was the lead for Panama after a quarter, taking advantage of easy opportunities. The 66% they shot in that opening eight minutes was no aberration. In fact, that was right at where they would finish shooting from the field. While PHS missed all eight of their first half three point attempts, they had nary a miss inside the arc. Yavneh’s saving grace was clearly their improved ball security from that of previous games. With the shots they were allowing and the big differential for Panama on the boards, 5 first half Bulldog turnovers allowed them to stay close at the half. Trailing by nine points with minutes to play in the first half, the starting Yavneh guards finally created a mini-run. William Zalstein once again created a break with a steal and subsequent assist to Elan Kogutt, followed by an enormous Miles Pulitzer three pointer to cut the lead to 31-27 at the break. While the “biggest” Panama threat seemed to be Tiffee, it was actually lanky Will Seagraves that gave the Bulldogs fits all game long. His length and post ability to go along with his nose for the available rebound opportunities just could not be answered. Panama pulled away in the third period before a three ball by Josh Karnett pulled Yavneh back to 37-34 halfway through the third quarter. Freshman Jake Greif blocked a corner shot to start a break that would provide Yavneh’s only lead at 38-37 late in that third period. Just like Thursday night, the Bulldogs played best on the run as they tired the bigger opponents’ big men. However, this was not Dallas Academy. Kogutt was able to score but had to work much harder than the layups the Panama big men were getting at the other end. Trailing 47-41 at the end of three periods, Kogutt clearly needed someone to help offensively as he was being suffocated on every possession. Help he needed and help would be an understatement when evaluating what Kogutt got in the final quarter from Freshman Jordan Prescott. After being almost completely invisible for 24 minutes, Prescott started his 15-point fourth quarter explosion with two short jumpers followed by three “no doubt” three pointers. Unfortunately, no matter how many points he scored, the layups at the back end of Yavneh’s defense were still worth two points for Panama. The lead shrunk to as few as six points but it was an uphill battle. The young core of Bulldog big men did a poor job protecting the basket, specifically in the fourth quarter, as the interior parted like the Panama Canal. Seagraves and Tiffee combined for a ridiculous 49 points and 28 rebounds. For the first time all season, Kogutt was bested by an opponent in the scoring column. Seagraves’ 31 points topped EK’s 26. Clearly, it was the home-grown coffee that woke up Seagraves and his teammates. Free throws hurt both teams but Yavneh could have used some of their nine misses to cut the deficit.
Yavneh (5-5) is now off until January. They will have several weeks to answer a number of questions. Can Prescott play four effective quarters, how fast can the young big men grow up and protect the basket, will Kogutt find a way to score points more efficiently than 45%, will the four guards (Zalstein, Pulitzer, Karnett, Cohen) produce more aggressively without the turnovers? Finally, the Bulldogs depth takes a hit with the loss of Junior guard Joe Lerer for the remainder of the season (Thailand semester).
The Kennel Report, now in its fifth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M