Ramaz defeated Yavneh 47-23 Thursday evening to drop the Bulldogs record to 12-11.
There had been no city in the world more successful for Yavneh basketball. Houston, Texas was the one place the Bulldogs had never once lost in their 10+ year history. That all changed Thursday evening in the second preliminary round game of the David A. Yaffee z”I Memorial Tournament. Location had nothing to do with the outcome… Ramaz outplayed Yavneh on Thursday night to the tune of a silencing 47-23. It was the Bulldogs lowest offensive output on the now 23 game season. Yavneh was ready for the hype that is Zach Rosenberg. In the end. however, it was all the other Ramaz players that dissected Yavneh’s combination of defenses and stymied any semblance of an offense Yavneh could muster. Senior Josh Abrams has always been known for his ability to shut down the scorer. He showed once again Thursday that he was up to the challenge. Rosenberg scored just 7 points on 3-6 shooting, only 5 of which were scored directly against Abrams. His air-tight smothering defense took Rosenberg’s scoring right out of the game but the senior from Ramaz showed Thursday that he was indeed a complete player. Rosenberg used his gorgeous passing ability to tear up the interior of the rest of Yavneh’s defense. Bulldog star David Naxon started quickly with two quick baskets to give Yavneh a 4-0 lead but after that it was lights out. Trailing 13-5 at the end of a quarter, 26-12 at halftime, and eventually 34-13 mid third quarter, most of the second half was a mere formality. Sam Roth was the high man for Ramaz with 13, feasting on wide open lay ups off passes from Rosenberg. Naxon led Yavneh with 12 points in the loss. Yavneh’s 16 turnovers and 6-24 shooting did them in on offense while they allowed Ramaz nearly a 2-1 advantage on the boards to seal the deal.
In a round robin tournament like this one, there is no time for reflecting on this painful loss. Yavneh will play for their tournament lives Friday morning at 10am against HAFTR (Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns..) Of New York. The winner of that game will almost certainly earn a rematch with Ramaz on Sunday afternoon in the tournament final. HAFTR defeated Emery Weiner of Houston handily in their first game Thursday. HAFTR is a step down from Ramaz but the question remains how far down and where is that in relation to where the Yavneh Bulldogs are in the overall picture of the nation’s religious high school basketball programs.