Yavneh defeated Dallas ISD Sunset Public High School 54-46 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 7-1.
With many asking questions as to the whereabouts of Adam Karnett so far this season, the Senior Captain responded with a 25-point performance just when his team needed it most. On a night that the Bulldogs looked completely out of sync in so many areas, Karnett made key baskets and owned the free throw line to start a very tough stretch to end November off on the right foot. The game began with a nice Itai Guttman feed to Adam Schor for the early lead but the opening stanza quickly turned into an offensive rebounding exhibition for Sunset. While the Bulldogs were pretty much one-and-done at their offensive end, Sunset got at least a couple shots at the basket every trip down the floor. As such, the Bison built an 8-5 lead with an effective outside attack and a relentless crashing the boards mentality that Yavneh could not solve. The Bulldogs were allowing wide open looks for the first time in a long time and Sunset was cashing them in. Karnett responded to one Sunset triple to creep his team within a basket and a nifty Sam Kleinman to Adam Steinbrecher Senior connection off an out-of-bounds under play actually tied the score at 14-14. Almost unbelievably, the Bulldogs gave up 9 first period offensive rebounds and still managed to salvage a tie score on the heels of a Karnett glide to the basket immediately before the buzzer sounded. That momentum ignited a 4-0 beginning to the second quarter for the home team. For the second time in a week, however, the Bulldogs could not find a good combination. The offense was choppy and the defense could not get into its normal rhythm. On one occasion, a substitute player entered the game only to call an immediate timeout in baffled confusion. The good news, however, was that Sunset hit an offensive lull of their own in the second stanza. After falling behind by a basket once again, Yavneh needed a series of unlikely Adam Schor free throws to grab a 26-24 halftime edge. Awful shot selection by the home team was the biggest second period issue as the rebounding problems had subsided and really only 6 turnovers was a low number all things considered. The team that could find some consistency on offense would most likely take control of the game.
The Bulldogs used their typical third period spurt-ability to open up the game to begin the second half. Kleinman swiped a basketball and fed Karnett for an easy bucket, and then Itai Guttman began a key fast break opportunity with a rebound outlet pass that went to a streaking David Rudomin via Kleinman. The run became 8-0 to start the third period when Karnett collected a rebound off of an Ori Guttman block and took off coast to coast. Guttman followed that defensive play with another as he devoured the entire passing lane on the way to an easy finish at the basket for a double-digit 36-26 lead. Sunset started to heat up again from the outside for the remainder of the third quarter. While jump shots were once again falling, the Bulldog lead was growing thinner and thinner. The offensive rebounds were back as well and Sunset completed an improbable 9-2 run with three gift free throws as time expired which resulted from a bad Yavneh foul at the third period horn. The lead would get as low as just 2 points early in the final period before Karnett once again answered, this time with a wing triple. When Kleinman found Schor on a well-designed lob play for a 7-point lead at 44-37 the game appeared to be sealed. Sunset had more three point shots to fire away, though, and Gilberto Gonzalez would nail three of them in the final 4:51. A huge turnover forced by Rudomin was off-set by a pair of Bulldog giveaways that led to the second of Gonzalez’s long distance lefty connections. With the lead 45-43 and 2:27 remaining Schor found Itai Guttman on a nice post-to-post hookup but once again Gonzalez had the answer in triplicate. With the Bulldog lead now on life support at 47-46, the last 1:39 were sure to be drama-filled. Sunset’s Rene Mendiola had other plans and possibly an appointment to attend to. Mendiola committed the foul that put the Bulldogs into the bonus and decided to make matters worse by arguing the call. The ensuing technical foul allowed Karnett and Kleinman to connect on matching pairs of free throws for a 51-46 commanding advantage all of a sudden. Helped by a ginormous Jason Epstein forced jump ball turnover from below sea-level and an Itai Guttman screen that introduced one Sunset player to a concrete wall known as Mount Guttman, the visitors would not score again. Karnett finished his prolific offensive evening by connecting on 3/4 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. He led all scorers with the 25 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Adam Schor made kept the streak alive of consecutive double-doubles from Bulldog post players with a 10 point/11 rebound effort of his own. Sam Kleinman notched 8 more assists, most of them to Karnett, to increase the win streak to 6 games. Also of note, Itai Guttman scored 7 points and gobbled up 9 more rebounds, and Senior Adam Steinbrecher efficiently contributed a pair of baskets at a much needed stretch of dire straits in the second quarter.
Yavneh (7-1) will have to shake off the less than stellar efforts of Monday and focus their attention on the much-anticipated rematch with highly ranked Liberty Christian of Argyle. Ranked #18 among large private schools in Texas, Liberty got the scare of a lifetime just a season ago as the Bulldogs went toe to toe with them in their building. With Yavneh looking for a signature win in November, Liberty Christian may very well be walking into a bees nest with honey-laced Nikes on their feet.
The Kennel Report, now in its tenth season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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