Yavneh defeated Poetry Community Christian 60-48 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 18-7.
Poetry may be an art form to many but the city was nearly a house of horrors for Yavneh Thursday evening. Jordan Prescott scored 24 more, Adam Karnett had his second straight quality offensive game, and the Bulldogs escaped a war in a surreal environment. For the second straight game on the road Yavneh jumped out to a big lead early. This time Prescott connected on his first two triples and 8-0 was the early advantage. Just like Texoma on Tuesday, though, Poetry hit back with a major first period response run. 12-5 was the spurt but the usual culprits did not seem to be the issue. Rather than turnovers or offensive rebounds, Poetry was winning at both ends in the half court. The Bulldogs held the lead after a single period behind a pair of nice passes from Prescott to Senior Ben Romaner. The second period saw Poetry flip the game around and control nearly the entire 8 minutes. Yavneh was not getting the quality looks at the basket that they have become accustomed to in their halfcourt offense. Senior Captain Jake Greif did manage to tie the game at 21-21 on a quality rim run but an overall sluggishness playing in an East Texas barn was becoming a major issue. Poetry held the lead 24-23 at halftime and had actually turned poor early shooting into a 47-42% edge at the break. There was no crispness or intensity at either end for the Bulldogs and they were in serious trouble far away from home.
Poetry made another big push to begin the second half with a 6-0 outburst. Yavneh was about to get run out of the gym against a team it had toyed with just a week ago. Prescott used a spin cycle hook-up with Itai Guttman to cap a quick 6-0 response and slice the lead to a single point. The Bulldogs may have traveled by bus to the game but major air traffic held them back from taking the lead. Three straight airballs including two consecutive free throws ignited another 5-0 Poetry run to seize back control. Yavneh tried hard to ratchet up the pressure and they finally broke through. Perennial X-Factor Sam Kleinman sparked the comeback with an interception at half court converted into a layup. Greif followed a possession later with two free throws. The pressure was getting to Poetry big time and after another forced turnover Prescott found Guttman for the tie. Karnett’s acrobatic steal followed as all in one motion he found Prescott at the rim for a three point play and the lead. Greif finished the third period with a finish high off the glass and a critical blocked shot netting a 40-36 advantage. Realizing that disaster had been averted, the Bulldogs played much more relaxed in the final stanza. Prescott began the quarter with a three ball and a tough inside move to open up a 7 point lead. Despite several mental errors including a variety of unnecessary fouls down the stretch (one on a three pointer), Yavneh maintained a healthy lead to the end. The icing on the cake was a twirling drive finish by Karnett for the first double-digit lead. Prescott led all scorers with 24 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Karnett also finished in double-figures with 10 points as well as 5 assists and 4 steals. Senior Kevin Sulski rounded out the balanced guard attack with 7 of his own points and 4 assists. The post trio of Greif/Guttman/Romaner combined for 16 points on 50% shooting.
Yavneh (18-7) won their fourth contest in a row but was less than impressive in doing so. A much better effort will be needed when HSAA South arrives for a Tuesday contest next week if a fifth straight win is to be in the cards.
The Kennel Report, now in its eighth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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