Yavneh defeated Shelton 56-49 Tuesday evening. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 7-1.
As Senior Captain Miles Pulitzer found himself in the open floor streaking towards the basket after a late steal, two things became immediately apparent: he was going to get tackled by the pack of aggressive defensive trees coming his way and indeed he was going to knock down a pair of free throws that all but assured Yavneh would escape a ferocious lions den unscathed on this night. A stifling second half pressure defense, an 18 point turnaround, and some timely scoring surged Yavneh to their most refreshing win of the year Tuesday in a hostile environment. Elan Kogutt scored 16 of his 26 points during a second half comeback that erased a mountain of an 8 point halftime deficit. The end was a far cry from a beginning that looked for all the world that Yavneh would be blasted right off the Chargers’ home court. Despite several passes on their opening possession, a change of scenery did Yavneh no favors in having their opening turn with the ball end on anything but a turnover. The 8th straight opening turnover despite a 7-1 record to start the year, if nothing else, shows the team’s resiliency but at the same time is getting ridiculous. It was more than just the first possession, however. The Bulldogs looked frightened and overmatched for the opening 5 minutes. Shelton got to the rim at will while forcing Yavneh’s offense way out of its comfort zone with an air tight zone defense. The Chargers led 13-3 early and were getting whatever they wanted, led by a duo of monstrosity in Hank Aldous and Senior scorer Alyn Jackson. Yavneh found a rhythm late in the first period when Jordan Prescott skipped a pass over the zone cross-court for an Elan Kogutt baseline jumper. That play was merely a preview of things to come at that point as Kogutt would again make a living on the baseline, a place he easily spends more time at than even his own home. When the Bulldogs struggle its usually turnovers, free throws, and opponents offensive rebounds. While they found a groove at the line finally (18-27) and kept turnovers to a minimum (6), it was the offensive rebounds that doomed the second quarter. Just as the margin had been cut as close as 17-15 halfway through the period, the Chargers just as quickly answered back with a 9-0 outburst to push the lead back to 11 points behind a slew of second chance points. The first half ended 28-20 and Yavneh had to turn up the heat on both sides of the ball. They did just that. Scoring 20% of their points at the time in just the first 53 seconds of the second half, the Bulldogs made a statement they this would be a game after all. Pressure defense started everything and on the back side that cross-court skip pass was paying the bills. The lead would shrink to a single point before Shelton re-established themselves with a 4 point run. That would mark the beginning of the end as Yavneh was winning both sides of the ball. Scoring the final 4 points of the third period as part of a 13-1 run that spanned both second half quarters, the Bulldogs were just the smarter team as the game scrambled. Jake Greif and Ben Romaner battled admirably on the inside, getting blocked on numerous occasions but also dishing it right back at the huge Shelton front line. It was a war in the trenches and those two warriors did enough to allow Kogutt and Prescott to do their thing when it mattered. Kogutt finally tied the game on a single free throw with 7:10 to play in the game after a chance at the lead was lost when his lay up was rejected by the basket’s rim. On the very next possession, Kogutt did give the Bulldogs the lead for good at home on the baseline for a 38-36 score. The separation on the scoreboard would come just seconds later as Jordan Prescott took his time in bottoming a three pointer for a quad-point lead with his patented wink at the defender. Pulitzer then left no doubt with a pair of breakaway steals, including the game clincher mentioned above. With the zone defense finally solved, the Chargers had no choice but to switch to a man defense, netting them nary a stop down the stretch. Kogutt led all scorers with the 26 points while Aldous and Jackson each had 15 for Shelton. Guards Pulitzer, Reid Cohen, and Josh Karnett all had gritty games and combined to shoot 11-14 from the free throw stripe. For the second time this season the Bulldogs overcame an 8+ point deficit on the road. While Shelton has just recently started their season due to football, they will provide another tough test in the rematch next week.
Yavneh (7-1) will be home for DISD’s North Dallas High School Thursday night. North Dallas has always been a thorn in the Bulldogs’ sides with their size and athleticism. They have dominated the series, winning all but one of the 4 meetings, the one loss coming with the aid of several North Dallas technical fouls late.
The Kennel Report, now in its sixth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
LF 4-4