Yeshiva High School of Boca Raton, Florida defeated Yavneh 60-56 Friday morning to drop the Bulldogs record to 15-16. The game was a Tier Il qualifying game that sends Yavneh to the quarterfinals of Tier III at the Sarachek Tournament.
The referees for the Tier Il qualifier Friday morning showed up over 30 minutes later than scheduled. The Yavneh Bulldogs followed suit by not showing up until the third quarter. Trailing 5-0 from the outset, Yavneh played from behind the entire game. 2-10 three point shooting in the first quarter continued the ugly shooting trend from a day earlier and the Bulldogs were lucky to be down only 10-9 after a quarter. YHS Boca’s poor shooting would end abruptly in the second quarter, however, and the rout was on. The Storm got to every loose ball and grabbed every rebound all game long. Their 39-26 rebounding edge, including 19-12 on the offensive glass did not do justice to the shear domination they had over the Bulldogs on the glass. The Yavneh run-and-gun was not working at all with the score sitting at 27-9 with 1:48 to go in the first half. Senior Amitai Scott drilled a momentous three point prayer at the first half’s buzzer to cut the lead to 29-18 at halftime. Before that shot, the Bulldogs had shot 2-16 from three point range and 5-28 overall. Yavneh had to scrap their strategy in the second half with the deficit at double digits. With YHS Boca’s two top big men in foul trouble, the plan was to attack the rim. Super Soph David Naxon did just that. The result: one of the greatest quarters for an individual player in Yavneh history and a double digit lead erased. Naxon weaved in and out of lane traffic, scoring nearly every way imaginable in the third quarter. His 17 third quarter points not only electrified the crowd but they also helped tie the score at 39 39 late in the third quarter. Yavneh even had a chance at the lead but Junior Sam Pulitzer missed two free throws on the very next possession. In fact, free throws again plagued the Bulldogs. A paltry 11-19 from the line left 8 easy points off the board in another critically close game. The Storm of Boca would score the next 4 points and never look back. A Scott free throw line jumper cut the lead to 48-46 with 3:05 left but the Bulldogs would get no closer. Chances late were squandered by the lack of defensive rebounds during Boca’s missed free throws. Poor shot selection also led to the demise of a team that seemed invincible during the third quarter. Naxon’s brilliant frame was replaced by poor shot selection down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Naxon finished with 29 points for the second straight game, this time on 10-21 shooting. Should his team advance, Naxon will likely be in the running for Tier III MVP honors.
Yavneh (15-16) will play Stern Hebrew High School of Philadelphia in the quarterfinals of Tier III on Saturday night at Yeshiva University. Sunday’s game should be either noon or 1:30pm for the potential semifinals.