Trinity Christian School of Cedar Hill defeated Yavneh 73-40 Thursday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 17-9 (8-2).
There will be no repeat district title for Yavneh in 2014-15 as Trinity Christian emphatically completed the season series sweep, forcing 32 more turnovers (69 in the two games) and this time did irreparable damage on the offensive boards with another 23 second-chance rebounds. For a brief moment to start, however, it seemed as if the Bulldogs would control this rematch. Junior Steve Levine stormed the baseline after an encouraging defensive stop and seemed to levitate in the air for the better part of 7 seconds in scooping Yavneh to a 2-0 lead. Truth be told, the Bulldogs had multiple chances to control this game from the outset but fumbled passes, missed layups, and tentative play allowed Trinity to methodically score the next 6 points. The 6-2 Trinity advantage, though, was being played in the half-court at a pace very much to the liking of the visitors. The missed opportunities may not have been damaging on the scoreboard but the window would be short-lived and the mistakes amped up from there for the Bulldogs. Senior Noah Weiss did some stat padding with a follow of his own missed layup to break a 9 point Trinity run and keep the game within 5 points. For all the hype about the vaunted Trinity full-court press, Yavneh was well prepared and broke it with ease early and often. Weiss fed Daniel Chernikov from half court on one instance that made the press look silly and ridiculous all at the same time to get to within 9-6. But, alas, most times Yavneh broke the press they were unable to make simple plays to seal the deal at the back end. Changing shots to account for blocked shots that never materialized cost the Bulldogs several scoring chances and a 7-0 Trinity first period ending run made the score 16-6. 11 first quarter Yavneh turnovers led to 14 of the 16 Trinity points and seemed like a repeat of the first matchup. The deficit grew to 22-8 early in the second period but Weiss kept his team afloat with two more second chance points. The one thing the Bulldogs excelled at in the first half was rebounding, actually winning 17-14 in that area. Jonathan Ochstein completed a timely three-point play on a quick knifing drive that made the score a manageable 24-13 with 5:28 to play in the first half. Ochstein trimmed the lead to just 10 points a couple possessions later with a baseline jumper that splashed home. Starting to carve their way back into the game, the Bulldogs were scoring again but could not make any serious headway. The 2015 debut of Senior Zak Schultz was impressive in stretches, including an electrifying reverse layup to make the score 28-18 with 2:43 to go before halftime. Classmate Grant Prengler added a follow-lane jumper but a key Trinity three-point play on the last possession of the half took the margin to 15 points for 35-20 at halftime. Just 5 second period turnovers left hope for a second-half run and one last push to stay alive for the district title.
Solid Yavneh defense had the visitors off and rolling to start the second half but missed layups and more turnovers allowed Trinity to score 7 straight points in opening up a 42-20 advantage. Ori Guttman’s wing three pointer accounted for more than half of the 5-point third quarter offense for Yavneh. Careless turnover upon careless turnover coupled with a suddenly new rebounding problem caused the Bulldogs to finally lose contact in this basketball game. 12 Trinity offensive rebounds heavily contributed to the 24 point gap on the scoreboard through 24 minutes of play and took the drama out of this horse race down the stretch. A couple Chernikov finishes, a Noah Rubinstein jumper, and another Levine driving scoop finish provided some much-needed offense in the final stanza but it was way too little and way too late. Overcoming 32 turnovers and 23 offensive rebounds allowed against a team that runs the floor well is a recipe for disaster and that was the story plain and simple. Noah Weiss and Daniel Chernikov scored 8 points each and combined for 13 rebounds but was not nearly enough to keep their team in this game. Every Bulldog player had at least one turnover and most had 4 or more. Steve Levine had 4 assists, Noah Rubinstein 3 steals, Ori Guttman 4 rebounds, and Weiss added trios of assists, steals, and blocks. Malachi Broadnax led all scorers with 16 big points in transition for Trinity.
Yavneh (17-9) has been playing from the District 3 #2 spot for the majority of district play and still holds that distinction. Just as Trinity all but secured the #1 spot Thursday, the Bulldogs have a chance to do the same with the all-important #2 slot and its playoff implications Monday at First Baptist. A win would give Yavneh a commanding lead on 2nd place with all the tiebreakers versus a loss that would put them in a virtual tie for 2nd place with 5 games to play. Having never lost a 3A district game to anyone not named Trinity or Christian, the Red and Black should be confident entering the stretch run of district play. Will they bounce back, take command of the #2 spot, and become a key player in the 3A playoff picture? Will the turnover bug subside and can they get back to maintaining rebounding dominance over smaller teams? Will the maturation of this team peak into fruition at the best possible time?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
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