St. Marks defeated Yavneh 68-51 Saturday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 10-5.
Although a month early, Saturday evening had the feel of an early showing of the movie Groundhog Day. St. Marks 6’8 post Will Dickson used a massive personal third quarter 14-5 run in which he simply turned around and dropped the ball into the basket on seven consecutive offensive trips. Unlike the movie, in which the primary subject lives the same over and over again until finally figuring out how to alter the outcome, the Bulldogs were defenseless against that much skilled size still without one of their two primary post players. While the previous two games were manageable without Sophomore enforcer Jake Greif, he was clearly missed during the critical stretch Saturday. Yavneh played a nearly flawless first quarter, establishing Junior Elan Kogutt in ways they could have only dreamed up prior to the game. Kogutt again was ultra-aggressive, drew 5 fouls, and scored 12 points in the opening 8 minutes. Like the previous meeting with St. Marks years ago, the Bulldogs had zero problems getting to the free throw line. Kogutt was able to roam the inside with unexpected ease early but that would not last long. St. Marks used a quick 8-0 run to erase a 3 point first quarter deficit in just over 120 seconds to start the second period. In seizing control for a 6 point edge, SM established their mountain of an inside player in Dickson. When he got the ball as opposed to teammates’ forced jump shots, it was an easy bucket virtually every time. The Bulldogs countered with two consecutive three pointers to cut 6 point leads to 3. One belonged to Senior Josh Karnett, who additionally made two great defensive plays late in the opening half to keep Yavneh within contact. Sophomore Reid Cohen also drilled a long-range missile from the corner, part of his 8 point first half outburst that kept the Bulldogs afloat. St. Marks held a 31-26 lead at halftime but the warning signs pointed to trouble for the home team. More than the fact that SM was now out shooting and out rebounding Yavneh, Kogutt was now being contained (1 point in 2nd quarter) and his scoring counterpart Jordan Prescott was saddled on the bench with a couple of fouls. Kogutt no longer had room to operate offensively with the lane clogged by the defense. The eruption that followed halftime would seal the Bulldogs fate on this night. St. Marks did nothing to start the third quarter except feed Will Dickson time after time after time. Yavneh played in front, behind, in between, and wherever else defensively but no man or zone defense they could draw up slowed Dickson in that stretch. The lead ballooned to 16 points with a 14-5 run that shell shocked the Bulldogs. Instead of attacking the rim as they had early, the Bulldogs settled for jump shots that validated tired legs and a defeated team. It did not help that Kogutt was limited to just 3 points from the end of the first quarter until just minutes before the game ended. That span of two and a half periods was enough to blow the game wide open. Prescott also had a tough night from the floor but battled until the very end. After trailing by 21 points early in the final 8 minutes, Yavneh cut the lead as close as 16 points. As dismal as the prospects of this four-game losing streak seems to be, there was surely a difference in this team from years past. This Bulldog group scratched and clawed for every possession late whereas previous teams would have given up and lost by 30+. The maturation process hit a bump in the road but a loss like this with a team at less than full strength will only build character as the season enters its home stretch. Dickson finished with 27 points for St. Marks while Kogutt countered with 22 in a losing effort.
Yavneh (10-5) look to get healthy at Mc Kinney Christian Tuesday night and on the board in 2010. A win there would finally equal last season’s win total with still a month+ to play.
The Kennel Report, now in its sixth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
LF 7-5