SAR High School of Riverdale, NY defeated Yavneh 44-25 Friday morning in a Tier 1 Quarterfinal game at the Red Sarachek Yeshiva University Tournament in New York. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 25-9.
Yavneh ran into a defensive buzz-saw Friday that completely suffocated any chances of a Semifinal appearance in 2012 at the YU Tournament. The game had defense written all over right from the outset as neither team scored for the initial three minutes. The pace was slow and that was to the liking of both teams. In SAR, the Bulldogs saw almost a mirror image in terms of playing style. SAR’s 10-4 lead after a single period was mostly contributed to the difference in the two team’s shot selection. The local New York team was comfortably patient while Yavneh missed key opportunities and cranked off balance and rushed jump shots/floaters. Everything on offense was really difficult for the Bulldogs the entire game. There was a brief window to start the second period that was super encouraging when Jordan Prescott connected on a tough leaner followed by a ferocious block by Adam Karnett off an SAR player’s head and out of bounds. But the Bulldogs would not make any of their 6 field goals on back to back trips the entire game. SAR used a methodical 10-6 run to stretch the lead to 20-12 at halftime. 7 turnovers and a complete loss of offensive composure doomed Yavneh but the game was manageable at just an eight point margin.
The Bulldogs so desperately needed a third quarter spurt but at every opportunity they fumbled a ball away or missed a point blank shot or forced yet another unanswered prayer. Itai Guttman nailed a foul line jumper to open the second half scoring but that 6 point margin would be the closest differential from there onward. In fact, only 2 points more would be recorded by Yavneh the rest of the period eliminating any chance at a comeback. Make no mistake the Bulldog defense was on its game nearly the entire way. It was just too difficult to score and SAR was finishing their few good looks while Yavneh could not. The game was never particularly close given the pace down the stretch but they were just a run away pretty much throughout. SAR was the most solid half-court defensive opposing team on the schedule and surely lived up to their high ranking in that aspect. Three point shooting was once again a killer as Yavneh is now 1/21 in New York City. Prescott led the team with 8 points while Senior Kevin Sulski followed with 7 points on 7/8 free throw shooting.
Yavneh (25-9) still has much to play for in New York City the next three days. They can still achieve the second best YU Tournament finish for any team in school history with a win over North Shore Hebrew Academy Sunday at 11am Dallas time. That would be a great feat for this team and would go a long way to securing the state of the program going forward. There is also the possibility of a much anticipated rematch with Houston’s Beren Academy on Monday if both teams win or lose together on Sunday.
The Kennel Report, now in its eighth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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