Yavneh defeated Thomas Jefferson High School 50-46 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 5-2.
After a unseasonably warm Fall in Dallas-Fort Worth the weather finally cooled down this past week. Nowhere in the Metroplex, however, was it colder than 12324 Merit Drive on Monday evening. DISD 5A Thomas Jefferson and Yavneh combined to miss 73 field goals and 22 free throws in an epically futile offensive performance for the ages that many are already calling Missgiving 2016. Just seconds into the game when Griffin Levine hit Micah Romaner for a lane flip shot and the Bulldogs were shooting a flawless 100% birds were chirping, violins were fiddling, and the world was great. Then, the next 31.5 minutes happened. A Daniel Chernikov AND-NONE continued the scoring in the game nearly 5 minutes later for a 4-0 Yavneh advantage but the early part of this game was a sign of things to come. It really was a battle of Bulldogs missed layups versus TJ turnovers in the first period. A 5-1 spurt for the Patriots deadlocked the game at a thrilling 5-5 after one intense period of play. Sure Yavneh was a mere 2/17 from the field but once again forced turnovers bailed them out as they allowed 10 less shot attempts. There was a virtual lid on the basket, specifically at the home team’s end inside of 3 feet. The Thomas Jefferson extended run reached 9-1 early in the second period as the Patriots grabbed a 9-5 lead, which in this game seemed like a 4 touchdown shellacking. Yavneh finally broke a nearly 4 minute drought with a Noah Rubinstein fumbling assist to Levine which instantly resurrected another turnover into 2 points to cut the deficit immediately in half. The Bulldogs had connected on just 3 of their first 25 shots, the second super slow start of the season. As the second period wound down, however, the nowhere to go but up offense kicked into high gear. A Chernikov baseline jumper and then a Levine rumble to the rim trimmed the margin to 13-11. Zach Epstein followed with a game-tying coast to coast layup at 13-13, and the Levine’s lob to Chernikov at the basket once again knotted the score at 15-15. The Bulldogs 12-6 explosion over 6 minutes of game time finally reconquered the lead at 17-15 on a Levine sprint dribble under and around the hoop for a bank shot. The 17-15 halftime score saw neither team shoot 35%, combine for 0/13 from three point range, and give both opponents hope after playing an awful half of basketball. Yavneh shot 8/33 from the field and 1/7 from the free throw line in the opening 16 minutes.
The Bulldogs came out of halftime with a renewed focus at the offensive end and their 10 straight points to begin the third period gave them command of the game. Epstein bottomed a wing triple, the first long distance connection for either team to jump start the spurt. Levine drilled a pull-up jumper and a corner three ball of his own and Rubinstein’s pair of free throws completed 10 points that the team, the crowd, and the population in general desperately needed. Conventional wisdom would say that a 12-point lead under these circumstances was GAME OVER but there was nothing conventional about this night. Somehow, TJ managed to string together an 8-0 answer on an off-the-glass three pointer and several transition baskets resulting from more turnover, missed layups, and missed free throws courtesy of Yavneh. Suddenly, with the score as close as 27-23, Chernikov stemmed the tide with a timely follow of a follow of a follow for an eventual made put-back that extended to 29-23. Rubinstein made several nice passes in the third period but notched his first assist of the quarter on a Chernikov layup while cutting to the basket. Freshman Jonah Eber made a big impact on the pivotal end of the third period. A steal that ignited a Levine transition finish and then a buzzer beating full-court sprint finish kicked the Bulldog advantage right back to 9 points. The end of that third stanza did not mark a finish to Eber’s career-best minute of basketball as he began the fourth quarter with a slashing no-look left hook off the glass all while smiling at the paid capacity crowd. While the Bulldogs energy and offense had increased three-fold, they just did not have the crispness to put TJ away for good. Turnovers and more missed gimme shots at the basket kept the visitors in the game combined with several final period defensive miscues. Chernikov nailed a jumper off an out-of-bounds pass for a 40-32 lead with 3:48 remaining but TJ followed with a three offensive rebound sequence to score and keep the game within a pair of possessions. Rubinstein’s big offensive rebound and subsequent bank shot while heading South for the holidays pre-maturely restored an 8-point edge with less than 3 minutes to play. TJ responded with 4 points in succession to slice the lead to 42-39 but Griffin Levine’s clutch three pointer seemed to save the day at 45-39 with 1:45 to play. The exclamation point was Chernikov’s second AND NONE of the game, this time a drive blistering down the right side of the lane for 47-39 with 1:26 to go. Only in this game, though, could the impossible happen and 48-40 with 26.3 seconds remaining seemed pretty safe. Thomas Jefferson picked a great time to start raining threes from all parts of the court, connecting on two deep ones with a Yavneh 5-second violation on an inbounds sandwiched right in the middle. Suddenly, a sure thing became a 48-46 nail biter with 7.3 seconds left to be played in regulation. On a night where free throws were anything but even discounted, Levine calmly knocked down the 2 most important freebies for the 50-46 advantage that mercifully ended this contest. 31% shooting, 13 missed free throws, and over 30 missed shots in the paint for the Bulldogs were jaw dropping in their own right but to win a game with those numbers is truly a credit to the perseverance and grit of a team that may be starting to come together. Griffin Levine still managed to accrue 19 points to go along with 5 assists. Daniel Chernikov added 15 points and 8 rebounds. Noah Rubinstein picked the right night to feast on the boards with all the errant darts flying around, collecting a career-best 14 rebounds. His ability to box out in the trenches was a big factor down the stretch of a game that got way too interesting late.
Yavneh (5-2) concludes their 2-game DISD swing with their annual contest again Sunset High School in less than 24 hours. If the offense and specifically the short game can improve, the Bulldogs could gather some serious momentum entering the Thanksgiving holiday and more importantly the Weiner Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland. Sunset, on the flip side, is very familiar with the Bulldog game and has this game circled on their calendars.
The Kennel Report, now in its 13th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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