Yavneh defeated Shelton 56-52 Tuesday evening. The win jump starts the Bulldogs season to a record of 1-0.
On any other night, Freshman Itai Guttman would not possibly have gotten away with committing a foul 93 feet from the opponents basket with his team nursing a three point lead and less than 40 seconds to play. Maybe that got overlooked because it was his first high school basketball game…or maybe because his head coach was quadruple the distance from the court having been dismissed from the proceedings 16+ minutes of game time earlier…or maybe, just maybe it was because Guttman made his first appearance in the frantic final minutes of opening night doing nothing but recording a block, 3 critical game saving rebounds, and the mid-air layup that sealed the win. It was, without a doubt, the best 3-minute debut of any Freshman in school history. Shelton’s superstar Sophomore Hank Aldous put on his own show to start the game. He drilled four first quarter triples as the Bulldogs fell behind by six points early. Clearly the tallest player on the court by a half-foot, Aldous could not be slowed from the beginning. The only reason the game stayed within reach was Yavneh’s ability to get to the free throw line. Junior Jordan Prescott had a strong opening stanza, connecting on a sweet runner and threading a pass to a cutting Kevin Sulski to stay within 4 points despite an Aldous buzzer beating three ball. The second period was one of recovery for the Bulldogs. The sizzling Shelton shooters cooled off and Yavneh began a parade to the free throw line. Prescott and Senior Elan Kogutt made the most of their visits, evening the game at 26-26 by halftime. Trailing by four points, the Bulldogs scored the next six points on 4 consecutive trips to the charity stripe. On the reverse side, Shelton missed 3/4 of their technical free throws right before halftime to keep the game tied and squarely put momentum on the side of the black and red.
Prescott and Kogutt played as if they were shot out of a cannon to start the third period. Prescott drilled a three pointer and Kogutt nailed one of his patented mid-range jumpers to surge Yavneh into the lead at 35-29. Identical to last season’s game at Shelton, the Bulldogs pinpoint execution to begin the second half completely flipped the game and there was no reason to believe that this year would be a coast to the finish as well. In all, a 19-8 run was finally broken when a Yavneh guard fouled a three point shooter inexplicably for the second time in the game. Still ahead 48-39 just minutes into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs pressed for more. Three poor possessions followed for Yavneh, shooting quickly and failing to obtain high percentage shots. Shelton was in position to take advantage of the opening they were given and reeled off 10 straight points. As Aldous finished the run with a slam dunk, the Bulldog lead had evaporated amidst bad shot selection, missed free throws, and an inability to finish at the rim. The wheels had completely come off when what seemed like a dagger Shelton three pointer found the net and a 52-48 Yavneh deficit with 2:38 to play. Junior Jake Greif connected on 1/2 free throws to cut the lead to a single possession, and after a key stop, Prescott finished a layup in traffic off a nice dish from Sulski to cut the lead to a single point. The insertion of Freshman Itai Guttman paid immediate dividends as he was able to control two rebounds, one with the help of Kogutt and give Yavneh a chance for the lead. When Sulski found Prescott for a runner that connected, the Bulldogs were once again ahead 53-52 with 1:16 left. With the game in the balance, Guttman got a small piece of the ensuing Shelton shot, controlled the rebound, and then hustled down the court. Classmate Adam Karnett wandered into traffic and then somehow found Guttman in mid-air at the rim for the cushion Yavneh so desperately needed on the road. Closing out the game was arduous as several mistakes including bad fouls, a missed free throw, and a missed put-away layup drew things out. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs had survived Night #1 behind Kogutt’s 22 point, 11 rebound performance and Prescott’s 19 point, 8 rebound follow up. So many questions were answered as the two big scorers showed up, the big men did just enough, and the Freshmen made more than the impact that has been highly anticipated.
Yavneh (1-0) will play at Liberty Christian Thursday night in a more hostile road test. Guttman and Karnett will have a tough time following up their clutch performances from Tuesday but if what we saw is going to be consistent, the Bulldogs will be a force to be reckoned with both in Texas and in New York come March.
Only time will tell!!
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
Reid?