Yavneh defeated The Shelton School of Dallas 64-29 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a super clean 4-0.
Yavneh did not need a spirited second half run this time out to put away an opponent nor did they need any huge second half adjustments. In fact, one 7-point possession was pretty much did the trick on this night as it sparked a 31-8 run to bury a mighty TAPPS 4A opponent Thursday. The Bulldogs did not have the greatest of starts, surrendering a pair of offensive rebounds and the first three points of the game in the opening minute. Senior Captain Steve Levine took matters into his own hands by scoring the first 7 Yavneh points all by himself. His 7th point notched the first lead for the home team and the score was harmlessly 9-5 when Levine found Junior Noah Rubinstein on a great inbounds look. The transition play that followed moments later would essentially end the game in the blink of an eye. Levine once again found Rubinstein for a big finish plus the foul and Shelton’s lead guard worsened matters with technical fouls both on and then off the court. In addition to ending Matsil’s night, this created a Rubinstein free throw exhibition which was capped at 7 points for the possession once Steve Levine connected on a fade-away jumper. 9-5 became 16-5 and the game would never see single digits again. Zach Epstein connected on a corner triple in confluence with the first period buzzer for a 21-8 Yavneh advantage. Steve Levine and Noah Rubinstein pretty much provided the rest of the offense, combining for 16 points in total. On the road, Shelton lost total composure and took themselves out of the game much too early. Rubinstein found Griffin Levine for a creative lefty finish, and then debuted the new Flipp and Tripp pirouette shot for a 27-8 lead minutes into the second stanza. Sophomore Pierce Bell’s steal/assist to Epstein combined with a straight-away trifecta from Griffin Levine pushed the margin to 30-13 as the game was quickly becoming a rout. The Levines always have at least one steal-fest run and it created 5 points that Shelton just really could not afford to surrender down a couple touchdowns and a field goal. Steve stole both basketballs, one for a Griffin layup and then one for his own And-1 finish. The rest of the half would see that five point outburst become a 15-0 onslaught with only halftime stopping the Bulldog momentum. The half ended on yet another three point play, this one a Jonathan Ochstein dish to Sammy Weyser head banger where he hit almost 8 feet of floor with every body part after connecting on the basket. Yavneh dominated every aspect of the game besides rebounding led by 12 points from Steve Levine in the first half. 18-0 in points off turnovers pretty much tells the story.
Ochstein also assisted to open the second half, finding Griffin Levine cutting to the hoop for a 42-13 edge. A 12-2 start to the third period included a pair of Rubinstein buckets, an Ochstein tap in, and then another great assist to Epstein. Bell found Weyser at the basket to cap the quarter with a 54-18 lead. The third quarter actually was not one of the more aesthetically pleasing time frames with both teams starting to show the raggedness of a 30+ point differential. With the game very much in hand, the Bulldogs tested some different combinations, got their turnover numbers back up after an excellent game and a half of protecting the ball, and got all their missed layups out of the way for next week in that final 8 minutes. Both teams limped to the finish of a 64-29 bludgeoning. Noah Rubinstein led all scorers with 13 points while Steve Levine added 12 points to go along with 6 steals and 4 assists. Griffin Levine also recorded double-figures with 11 points on the night. Also of note, Zach Epstein punched in 9 points while Sammy Weyser tallied 7 of his own.
Yavneh (4-0) has been none the worse for ware without still a pair of major players through 2 weeks. They have responded when challenged and have pounced when given the opportunity of weak moments from their opponents. Those efforts, however, are about to become a whole bunch more needed. Two challenging opponents come calling next week in small town Texas public school Avalon High School and then SPC mainstay Oakridge Academy. While the Bulldogs have enjoyed success against Avalon in their match-ups dating back quite a bit, next week’s biggest moment may be the opportunity for Yavneh to beat an SPC team for just the 2nd game in 11 tries in school history. Those match-ups include 4 losses to Oakridge including one at the hands of Chris Babb.
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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