Yavneh defeated Temple Christian 37-35 Monday evening. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 24-7.
Yavneh Senior Brad Alhadef scored on a layup with 52 seconds remaining to secure a strange win on Senior Night as the Bulldogs ended a strange regular season. The game provided late drama but never really had the feel of a competitive game. The 5 outgoing Yavneh Seniors started and quickly exited the game, building a 6-0 lead. The most unlikely scoring threat of the bunch, Michael San Soucie, netted 4 quick points in that span. A 15-2 first quarter gave all indications that Senior Night would be an absolute runaway. The lead shrunk to 18-10 at halftime, as the game took on a lackluster feel to say the least. San Soucie’s 4 points led all scorers at the break. The second half featured the debut of a 6th Senior, Arye Zucker. With a Wally Szczerbiak-type jumper, Zucker shot 2-8 for 4 points. The score remained close as Yavneh struggled to score all night without the starting unit. The lead was still 5 points at the end of three quarters. All of a sudden, though, things got really tight in the final period. TC’s Malcolm Smith came alive with 3 three pointers and Jesus Mijares got free time and again underneath the basket. The Yavneh defense was starting to crumble, and actually relinquished the lead at 29-28 with 3:26 remaining. The starters would quickly re-enter the game cold as TC would build a 33-31 lead with 2:19 to play. The Bulldog pressure turned the game back the other way as it lead to a couple Alhadef lay-ins. The game was sealed with a David Naxon post move, and just like that Yavneh finished their regular season on a winning note. The 5 Seniors: Alhadef, Naxon, San Soucie, Erez Krengel, and Baruch Shawel went off to standing ovations and went out on a winning note. The two teams combined to commit 43 turnovers and each shot in the low 30% range.
Yavneh (24-7) will now turn their attention to preparations for the 2008 Sarachek Tournament in New York City. Expecting the highest seeding they have had at least since the Ribald/Wolk days, expectations for this year’s tournament are sky high. If they play to their potential like they have many times this season, the Bulldogs will be playing deep into the weekend for a chance at the Championship. However, if they implode as they have on a couple of occasions this season, Yavneh could be looking at another disappointing March trip to the Northeast. With the tournament starting March 27, a full Sarachek Tournament Bulldog Preview will be sent out in early March. Also of note, the Bulldogs finished the regular season with the third best record in school history by %.
The Kennel Report is dedicated to “ACE”
GET WELL SOON =D
The Kennel Report is written by Zack Pollack