Yavneh defeated Waco Methodist Children’s Home 57-39 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 26-5.
Waco Methodist Children’s Home traveled a great distance to the game Thursday, then proceeded to travel at the game, and of course home from the game. Yavneh played a nearly flawless three minutes to start the game and so heavily overwhelmed the visitors into a deep hole impossible to crawl out of. Adam Karnett nailed a triple seconds into the contest, which was significant as the two teams would only connect on 4 more long distance-rs in their final 30 attempts from three point range. Itai Guttman and Sam Kleinman reversed roles on the assist to layup combo and the lead was quickly 5-0. It is not unusual for Bulldog opponents to fall prey to early turnovers but usually this is in the form of steals. On this night, however, the Yavneh opponent was busy chucking the basketball way out of bounds and unable to keep their feet set. The traveling violations cost WMCH a minimum of 25 points and neutralized a trio of super athletic glass-eaters that just simply could not get going. Adam Schor tipped in the only miss out of Yavneh’s initial 7 shots and when Kleinman fed Itai Guttman moments later the score was 14-0. Not only was everything working offensively (6/7) but the defense was air tight. There was just nowhere for WMCH to go and the few shots they even got were chucked three pointers that had no chance. The next 4:48 was ugly for both teams as even the Bulldogs offense left the building. Missing 8 of its last 9 first period shots, the Yavneh lead was only 18-7 after the first period. The misses were mostly easy layups and of course three point heaves, a staple for both teams on this night. Yavneh was in control on the boards (11-3) and only committed 2 turnovers to the opponent’s 7. A WMCH offensive attack of giveaways and poor three point shot selection gave them essentially no chance to score. With athletes and size all over the place, the visitors from Waco were just letting the Bulldogs defense dictate where on the court they would be. In fact, the 15 first half points they scored were almost exclusively off of Bulldog turnovers. 6 gut wrenching giveaways in the second stanza doomed Yavneh and stagnated the game. With WMCH converting on 2 straight turnovers, they had cut the deficit to 10 points. The Bulldogs, however, seized control of the game during a sequence of 3 steals from Sophomore Ori Guttman. All three resulted in points including a layup and an assist to brother Itai for a 25-11 edge. 14 points was the Bulldog lead at halftime led by Itai Guttman with 8 points on perfect 4/4 shooting. The Bulldogs were in control on the boards, in the turnover department, and on the scoreboard. Yavneh eliminated the chance of a comeback run to start the second half with a 6-0 start of its own. Karnett began to take over the game by getting into the lane with a combination of scoring, drawing contact, and opening easy follow opportunities for Schor. With a 20 point advantage, the Bulldogs should have been able to coast but the turnovers continued to give WMCH just enough offense to stay in the game. Add to that one of the worst halves of defensive rebounding in the history of basketball, the lead got trimmed to 12 points. In the end, though, the Yavneh defense was just too much for an undisciplined and clearly rattled group of talented players on the road in a tough environment. Grant Prengler provided just enough offense to reload the lead back to 16 points at the end of the third period and it was never closer than a 15 point margin the rest of the way. It was a good thing WMCH never really got their feet under them because Yavneh made an all-you-can eat buffet of mistakes down the stretch. From 8 missed free throws to a slew of missed layups to an unimaginable 30 offensive rebounds allowed to 18 turnovers over the final three periods, it really is a signature win to still coast comfortably at the end against a talented team. Itai Guttman led all scorers with 14 points and 7 rebounds, Adam Karnett added 13 points to go along with 4 steals, and Adam Schor just missed out on a double-double with 9 points/10 rebounds but did have 5 more blocked shots. Grant Prengler exploded for 7 points of his own and David Rudomin once again cleaned out the ice machine with his bruising defensive effort. Ori Guttman had another positive defensive effort along with Jason Epstein, who may very well have taken the charge he was credited with.
Yavneh (26-5) keeps on rolling in matching their season-long 9 game winning streak. A rematch with Poetry Community Christian on Monday evening is all that stands in the way of a season-high double digit win streak. The game figures to be another battle with a regulation basketball court twist this time around.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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