Yavneh defeated defending Texas UIL 1A State Champion Slidell High School 43-40 Saturday night. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 4-1.
Jason Prager buried a pair of go-ahead ice water three pointers in the final 41 seconds, including the rainbow with 0.5 seconds to play that sent Slidell home with a gut wrenching L Saturday. In a slow paced Saturday night boxing match that would end with the Red-and-Black without three of their starters and a third of their season roster, at times thrilling, at times inexplicable, and at even more times leaving the beyond capacity crowd just rolling their eyes, this was textbook classic small town Texas basketball. If you are ever lost out in FAR Northeast Wise County TX you will trip over a small town that, over the past 6 years, has become a basketball machine. With an enrollment under 70 and a graduation rate of 100%, the Slidell Greyhounds have built a dynasty simply by maximizing over a third of its school within the basketball program….strikingly similar to one Yavneh Academy of Dallas Bulldogs. 6”6 post Slayton Pruett, the Senior captain, leader of the team, and a 1A UIL All-Tournament MVP from the 2019 Final 4, lived up to his billing and played an incredible road game. Early on in this contest, the first Prager trifecta of the night and a nice Mason Schwaber post move just outside the painted area had Yavneh’s offense trending to be near the level of where it was at Shelton Thursday. Pruett also got off to a good start for Slidell and the score was knotted at 5-5 three minutes into the game. That is where this game took a turn towards Ugly Town, partially due to both teams propensity to excel at the defensive end and the remainder due to a lack of offensive execution that would continue all the way into Sunday morning. The Greyhounds did more of the executing in the opening stanza, engineering an 8-0 run and capturing a 13-5 lead. Considering this was 20% of their total offense for the game, it seems more of a body blow in retrospect than in the moment. Nevertheless, Elisha Klein dished a pass to Schwaber for a timely finish to beat the first period buzzer and salvage a 13-7 deficit after 8 minutes of play. Similar to the Liberty game, the Bulldogs were playing an ugly style of basketball with a team that seemed far more comfortable doing it. The shot attempts were not there, transition offense was at an absolute premium, and the turnovers were mounting. With the home team already short-handed to begin the game, down a pair of starters and a key bench player, Klein was enormous in this game. He bottomed a corner triple off a feed from Schwaber to slice the margin in half to begin the second quarter. His energy netted the Bulldogs a transition opportunity, and an own follow assist to Senior Reece Parker for a fundamental pump fake/left-handed finish, tightened up the game with a quick 5-0 spurt. Parker also made huge contributions during this critical responsive stretch as he scooped up an offensive rebound and found Tom Oster for an at-the-rim finish. Jonah Eber got into the action with a gorgeous scoop AND-NONE finish to the left angle that surged Yavneh back into the lead at 16-15. The game had suddenly become a seesaw affair but one that swung in utter slow motion. Prager dazzled the building with a brief moment of lightning on a steal/assist to Klein for the lead but it was Pruett that had the last say in Half #1. His score with contact gave Slidell a 19-18 halftime advantage. The game was frigid with both teams shooting under 40%, combined 2/12 from three-point range, and just no real rhythm from either side due to the volume of whistles. This game had the feel of a game that the Bulldogs were lottery winners to be within a single point the way they had played but also felt like an up-hill battle unless the pace could quicken at least a little bit.
Avery Levy began the second half with an assist to Schwaber for a deep mid-range jumper that gave the Bulldogs the lead again at 20-19. After that, a trip to the turnover buffet line ensued. There were passing turnovers, a variety of traveling violation turnovers, and a slew of charge calls. Schwaber had one sequence with a block/rebound/assist that set up Prager for a lefty streaking finish that seemed to ignite the Bulldogs but they could not extend their lead greater than a single point at any moment in the third period. Nik Krasovitsky provided the huge burst of athleticism that is his calling card with critical rebounds and a great charge take to get one back for his team. Levy then set him up for a pure elbow jumper to put the Bulldogs in front by a point again with under 3 minutes to play in the third quarter. The Jewish Jumping Bean was not finished quite yet as he teamed up with Levy on a deflection/steal, covering acres of real estate. The game was played between that three point window of one point advantages for 7 of the 8 third period minutes until Pruett connected on a tough fading prayer of a jumper over Mount Mason. The unlikely shot was back-breaking to Yavneh and seemed to drain their spirit with a 7-2 run. A 30-24 margin with only seconds more than a period to play might has well been 20 points. After all, the Bulldogs were playing on fumes, with combinations and challenges to their depth never before seen, and now without a third starter Jonah Eber (shoulder) for the entire second half. Schwaber was tempted to force a prayer in impatience but instead swung the ball to the wing and a open Elisha Klein as the third period was inching towards an elapse. If you are on a desert island with no food, water, smartphone, or points on the scoreboard, there is no better person who lives in a world of THREE than #2 in white. As Klein’s latest trifecta danced into the basket, the atmosphere changed in a flash and Yavneh went from teetering on the brink to very much back into the game with one chapter still to be written. A new challenge beset the Bulldogs down the stretch as they had finally navigated one storm at sea on the scoreboard. Now, the fouls were mounting, causing more personnel issues and even worse giving the Greyhounds easy free throw chances in a game where points were at an absolute premium. Going for a set lob play from out-of-bounds that would have stretched their lead to 5 points, Slidell got over anxious with the pass and Hillel Baynash was there for a Look-What-I-Found scoop and score to splice the deficit to 30-29. That 4-point swing was enormous, especially considering how tight this game was. Klein found Schwaber for a nice jump hook finish and Oster connected on a free throw but the Greyhounds used a 6-3 spurt to push back out to a 36-32 edge with 3:24 to play. Avery Levy’s slippery finger roll scoot to the hoop would cut the lead in half at 36-34 with still 3:13 to play, a great response once again. As the game drew towards a conclusion, this game felt like one that the Bulldogs had somehow, someway, against all odds, just managed to scratch and claw. They showed such incredible resolve despite multiple chances to fold their tent but yet here they were with a chance to steal this contest late. There was a whistle almost every time Slidell had the ball as some but not all of the 17-5 free throw attempt disparity in favor of the Greyhounds was due to lazy defense down the stretch. This is now two consecutive games where Yavneh has had a large volume of fouls, a definite area of opportunity as the season progresses. As it was, Slidell left points on the table and led just 38-34 with under two minutes to play in regulation. The Bulldogs needed one final push and one of their Senior captains would deliver. On one of the better looking offensive actions of the evening, a pick-and-pop ran to perfection saw Prager find Mason Schwaber for a step-out three ball. With a ton of game pressure and a crowd that seemed to keep growing bearing down on Slidell, the Yavneh defense forced a key turnover on the baseline to get the ball back down a single point at 38-37. Schwaber would return the favor with a solid screen for Prager to use while walking into a wing triple that never had a chance to go anywhere but through the net. With the building at all-time decibel levels, the Bulldogs had climbed the mountain and inexplicably led 40-38 with just 40.9 seconds on the clock. Seasoned Greyhound lead guard Brock Harwell calmly drove to the basket for a game-tying hook, leaving Yavneh with one final opportunity to win the game or we were headed for Overtime. With a shade under 8 seconds to play, Yavneh would turn once more to the artist known simply as Pistol Prager. Timed almost to perfection, Tom Oster stealthily pinballed off a defender to get open for the pass from Klein that would allow himself to dribble into position to make the assist of the game. With Prager darting through the middle of the paint in between an elevator screen of some serious meat in Schwaber and cohort Simcha Malina, Oster dropped the ball into the shooting pocket. Jason Prager gathered, fired, and saw his game-winning attempt hug the rim and fall through the hoop from the seat of his always high-waisted shorts. The Bulldogs led 43-40 with only a half second remaining. Slayton Pruett is one of the best players in the State and had a nice Double-Double with 16 points/12 rebounds but even he could not tie the game from 70+ feet in half a second. So it goes, the home team escaped on a Saturday night in November somehow…some way. The Bulldogs still have not lost back-to-back home games in half a decade and got a feel good win where they needed everyone who could physically lace up their shoes. Mason Schwaber (7 rebounds) and Jason Prager (5 steals/4 assists) each scored 11 points to lead the way. Elisha Klein chipped in 8 points with an efficient and very helpful game to keep this team afloat on several occasions. Tom Oster, Avery Levy, and Nik Krasovitsky were gritty in this game as well, with key rebounds, defense, and passing to make the end result possible. In all, 9 of 11 active players scored and everyone made contributions to pull out the victory.
Yavneh (4-1) limped to the finish line of an eventful 4-game week and gained some great experience. With many of the knowns of this team not available, the depth was challenged and persevered. In the last two games of the week, the bench particularly shined and as the season progresses this figures to be a major story line. As for now, it is time to heal up and be ready for old rival Cambridge on Tuesday evening. Whether gritty or ugly, there is much to build on and learn from regarding the events of Saturday night. What will happen next????
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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