Valley Torah defeated Yavneh 61-54 Sunday morning in the first Tier 1 Consolation game of Yeshiva University’s Red Sarachek Tournament. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 25-9.
For almost a half, Yavneh did everything they wanted and more to Valley Torah. The Seniors were clicking, the pace belonged to the Bulldogs, and the team looked like at least the #4 ranked Jewish school in the country. Only a string of turnovers, the lack of clutch shot making in the second half, and an anemic defensive presence in the latter stages of the game kept the Bulldogs from advancing to play for 5th place on Monday. Valley Torah jumped out to a quick 4 point edge to start the game but Senior Erez Krengel continued his torrid tournament with a great first quarter. Yavneh gained the lead at 10-9, at which time fellow Seniors David Naxon and Brad Alhadef joined the party in a big way. Naxon’s steal led to an easy 2-hand jam that woke up the sleepy crowd, and all of a sudden the Bulldogs were playing their brand of basketball. After giving up just 51 points in their opening two Sarachek games, Valley Torah was yielding points like great deals at a clearance sale. Alhadef converted three quick steals into points and ended the first quarter on a rainbow three pointer to give Yavneh a 19-11 lead. The Bulldogs shot a scorching 63% in that opening stanza. Valley Torah continued to struggle against a very effective Yavneh press into the second quarter. 13 first half turnovers fueled the Bulldogs great run, which at one time was 11-0. Krengel’s sweeping drive to the basket amidst traffic made the score 28-15 and seemingly put Yavneh in complete control. Alhadef, Krengel, and Naxon finished the half with 12, 11, and 10 points respectively. Yavneh led the game in every category but rebounds at halftime but only led by 6 points. The third quarter, though, would be Yavneh’s undoing. The turnover story would flip-flop in a big way for the second half. A Valley Torah 31-9 run included a stretch where Yavneh turned the ball over on 7 straight possessions without a shot attempt. A VT press of their own turned the tables as well. They started to get easy shots right at the rim, caught Yavneh at 37-37, and quickly spurted to a 46-37 advantage. Although another Alhadef three point buzzer beater ended the third quarter with the deficit at only 6 points, Yavneh was fighting an uphill battle. The lead grew to 10 and then 15 in the final period, with the Bulldogs trading baskets at best for most of the time. Scoring started to come back but defensive breakdowns provided Valley Torah with enough of a cushion to coast to the finish. The trio of Naxon, Alhadef, and Krengel scored 51 of the 54 points for Yavneh while VT’s Dovie Hoffman led all scorers with 24. While Naxon’s 18 provided his best Sarachek game of the year, he still has yet to put up a game the caliber of “Scintillating Senior” quality. Alhadef played a great game scoring 17 points on 7/9 shooting and Krengel continued to be among the tournament’s best with another 16 points.
As it is, the 5 Seniors will play one final game in a fight for seventh place. The opponent will be Kansas’s Hyman Brand, and will be played at TABC in New Jersey Monday morning 10:00am eastern/9:00am Dallas time. The teams last met in the same gym three years ago with Hyman Brand taking the contest. Prior to that, Itzy Ribald scored a Yavneh record 59 points to defeat the Rams in double-overtime five years ago in one of the truly epic games in Bulldog history. While that game wrote part of that team’s history, Monday will determine the final legacy left by these five Seniors. Will David Naxon throw down one final dunk and dominate his final game?; Will Erez Krengel end his career by extending his YU hot streak and drill some final three pointers?; Will Brad Alhadef continue to play his best basketball in the final game of his career?; Will Michael San Soucie out-physical a scrappy Hyman Brand front line to end his career; And will Baruch Shawel make a team pay for playing zone defense one final time? Monday will provide those answers.
THE KENNEL REPORT IS WRITTEN BY ZACK POLLACK