Yavneh defeated Trinity Christian Academy of Willow Park 72-59 Monday night. The win bolsters the Bulldogs record to 13-5 closing Calendar 2018.
Ofek Reef’s Triple-Double highlighted a trio of double-digit scorers as Yavneh once again dispatched Trinity Christian and finished the 2018 portion of their schedule with a third straight victory. The Bulldogs scored off the opening tap as Mason Schwaber set up Ofek Reef for the mid-range jumper that had previously eluded the Senior sensation who did everything but cook dinner for the crowd on this night. Jonah Eber and Zach Bernstein BN alternated steals and assists while teaming up for four of the first six Yavneh points. Eber’s wheeling scoop AND-NONE pushed the Bulldogs to an early 8-3 advantage. The energy was great from both sides but the back and forth nature of the opening stanza had a decent amount to do with the careless defense from the home team. Schwaber was in full on Give One-Get One mode but two early finishes right at the rim proved enough to keep Yavneh ahead by five points. Eber’s tip follow and a trifecta from Tyler C Winton created the first legitimate separation at 17-9. Reef also connected from distance and gobbled up a miss for more points as the Bulldogs doubled up Willow Park 22-11. The Eagles battled behind streaks to the basket and good work on the boards but the punishing inside triangle of Reef, Schwaber, and Eber were too much to overcome. Schwaber nearly got an early start on his Winter Break excursion world tour when his traveling finish enthralled the crowd and beat the first quarter buzzer for a 26-19 lead. Yavneh dished 10 assists and forced 7 turnovers as they seemed several steps quicker than Willow Park. The starting unit continued to take it to Trinity in the second quarter as Eber’s right-hand rumble to the rim and Winton’s acrobatic theft at half court turned Eber to Reef finish had the visitors in a trance. Reece Parker’s air assist dropped into the hands of Reef for another simple but effective three point play at the basket. Truth be told, Ofek Reef was literally everywhere as he scored, assisted, and rebounded like there were seven of him on the court at once. A pair of long passes resulted in Ben Rael and Eber money finishes. The score became 41-24 after one sequence where Reef scored, rebounded, assisted, assisted, rebounded, and scored again…all in a matter of moments. Simcha Malina added a silky smooth free throw and Bernstein put on a show late in the half as the Red-and-Black began to pull away. The Senior chief had a nose for pay dirt as he levitated in mid-air for a baseline floater and then conveniently scampered to the baseline on the opposite end of the court to consume a charge. The first half was not complete until Eber spin-cycled his way to the rack while the world slowly but surely turned towards 2019 all for a finish that snuck over the rim and in for a 46-27 advantage. The convenient store giant would have been proud as Reef/Eber combined for 30 points in the first 16 minutes on 7/11 shooting each.
Schwaber extended the lead to 20 points early in the third period with more point-blank execution as Reef continued to shine. The assist on that play and another to Bernstein as well as a throw down off a return pass from his classmate was probably the icing on the cake. Eber rolled in a pair of free throws and then scored on an opposite hand reverse layup from the third long TD pass of the night from Reef. Ironically, the school who just this past weekend secured the 4A TAPPS football state championship, could not deal with Bulldogs aerial assault or running game. While they aptly noted that Yavneh is still undefeated on the gridiron since 1993, Willow Park had to wonder what hit them as the score continued to spiral towards a 30-point differential. Schwaber dazzled the crowd with a pair of his signature passes producing Reef and Nachi Zucker baskets. Zucker also joined the Swat Team with his first career rejection. Reef did more than record a triple-double; he did it before the midway point of the third quarter when he notched 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists with still 12 minutes of game action remaining to be settled. There would be little need, however, for Reef to continue his dominance over the world…and Willow Park on this night. Noah Ohayon predictably drilled a trifecta early in the final period of play to give Yavneh a game-high 70-37 lead of 33 points. In what would have been a candidate for the biggest comebacks, collapses, and epic or catastrophic events ever before seen on a basketball court, the Bulldogs limped to the finish. A 22-2 run by Willow Park to end the game did not have as much drama as it did unnecessary teamwork to score on one mutual basket but nevertheless came to a merciful end with the final buzzer. The bigger story was what happened in the rest of this basketball game aka Ofek Reef’s 20 point/11 rebound/11 assist triple-double for the books. Jonah Eber added 18 points and Mason Schwaber chipped in 12 of his own. Schwaber, Zach Bernstein, and Tyler Winton combined for 13 more assists in a game that exquisite passing made up for 31 turnovers distributed among every single one of the 12 active players.
Yavneh (13-5) ran through the three 4A teams on their schedule. Now, as the page turns to district play in 27 days, the Bulldogs will set their sights on a run back to the 3A TAPPS state tournament for a third consecutive season. The 7-team District 2 field figures to be a wide open race without Cristo Rey to stand in the way of anyone’s hopes and dreams this time around. Instead, Sherman’s Texoma Christian rounds out a familiar field of Covenant, Lutheran, Heritage Christian, Highlands, and Lakehill. It all starts Monday January 7th as Lutheran invades the SRC with both teams focused on a State run. Will the outside shooting woes of the Bulldogs be a mere thing of the past and inspiration to a diversified portfolio that will leave opponents no air to breathe? Will the legend of inside dominance for this team continue to become more and more of an impossible challenge for all comers? Can the depth of Yavneh make the pace of play a weapon that will once again put this team at the center of the 3A story come February? Will Ofek and the Chipmunks be more than a garage band as they run through opponent after opponent in 2019 with a common goal of a state championship?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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