Yavneh defeated Selwyn 57-43 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 12-3.
It was a dream come true for all those Yavneh Bulldogs that have gotten yelled at by their parents for playing basketball in the living room. On this night, Yavneh dominated Selwyn’s carpet gym floor and did some pre-vacuuming to the tune of 34 rebounds. After a one week layoff, the Bulldogs shook off the rust, got a double-double from Adam Schor, a career-high 10 points from Jason Epstein, and rolled past Selwyn for the second time this season. Similar to the first meeting, it took a while to shake Selwyn. There were several first period lead changes in route to a 15-14 Yavneh lead after eight minutes. Schor was dominant early with 8 points in a flash but Selwyn stayed close by dictating the tempo. Careless Bulldog turnovers fueled Selwyn’s offense and at times the visitors just looked lost in the opening stanza. Off the bench, Jason Epstein provided a much needed spark to begin the second period. In an ironic twist of fate, Epstein connected on his first two made free throws of the 15 game season and also made a power post move (also his first of the season). Adam Karnett drilled a mid-range jump shot and suddenly Yavneh grabbed a 21-14 advantage. From there, the pace was starting to quicken and the lead in turn opened up. As high as 13 points, the lead leveled at 33-23 for halftime. The Bulldogs controlled the boards 20-11 but turned the ball over 7 more times. Itai Guttman notched 4 assists, including a pair to his brother Ori. For as sluggish as the team looked, a 10 point lead regardless spelled trouble for Selwyn.
The lead grew to 15 points midway through the third period behind a stellar defensive effort. Yavneh was close to blowing the game wide open if not for a high turnover period. Karnett found Schor on a nice play to keep the lead at 42-29 through 24 minutes of play. The Bulldogs did not bring their A-game but were able to out-athlete Selwyn down the stretch when it mattered. Jason Epstein recorded an impressive steal that quickly became an assist to Sam Kleinman for the second of his two three point plays. The lead had grown to 49-29 and once again Selwyn had seen a close-ish game turn into a laugher due to an inability to score in the final half of play. Some nice late passing from Meir Epstein, who played a physical second half, and a crafty hand-off play from Schor to Ori Guttman required no GPS to get to the basket and seal the game. Adam Schor led the Bulldogs with his double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Epstein followed with the 10 points on 4/5 shooting and three guard combo Sam Kleinman, Adam Karnett, and Ori Guttman combined for 23 points to pace the offense. Despite Purim-style graggers designed to distract the visitors during free throw attempts, the Bulldogs shot a perfect 10/10 (season-best and its not even close).
Yavneh (12-3) will need to step up their game big time in less than 24 hours when they visit Liberty Christian of Argyle, Texas. Liberty has given the Bulldogs fits in all previous meetings with their physical play. This season they are ranked close to the top of all Texas private schools. The game serves as a wonderful opportunity to score a high-quality win over a Texas powerhouse. It will be interesting to see what has been learned since a missed opportunity vs St Marks 10 days ago.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack
M&MTL-BW-SP