OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team went up big early on and earned a 74-59 Skyline Conference victory against the visiting Yeshiva Maccabees Saturday evening from the Clark Athletic Center. Old Westbury (19-3) remains unbeaten in conference play with a 14-0 mark, winning for the ninth straight game as Yeshiva (8-11) fell to 5-8.
Old Westbury jumped ahead early with a 20-2 run from 16:34 to 9:00 to take a commanding 24-6 lead. Yeshiva sliced into the deficit with a 14-5 run to close out the final 6:37 to head into the break 35-26.
Old Westbury outscored Yeshiva 39-33 over the final 20 minutes to win by 15. Old Westbury went up by 19 points with 9:38 left on the power of a 12-2 run. Yeshiva cut the deficit down to eight points on three separate occasions in the second half, most notably with 1:37 remaining on a pair of Dovie Hoffman free-throws to make it a 65-57 game. Old Westbury closed out the game with a 9-2 run to improve to 7-0 at home.
Rashawn McCarthy combined 20 points and 11 rebounds to record his second career double-double to lead Old Westbury. Tyrik Tucker followed with 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Ty Moore tallied 16 points and five steals while Omari Trebuse went for 11 points and five steals.
Gil Bash poured in a game-high 21 points to go along with seven assists to pace Yeshiva in defeat. Dovie Hoffman added 13 and Benjy Ritholtz scored 12 while Shlomo Weissberg finished with a 10 point, 12 rebounds double-double in addition to a pair of blocks.
Old Westbury shot 45.8 percent from the field (27-59), 35.7 percent from three-point territory (5-14) and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line (15-18). Yeshiva hit 42.9 percent from the floor (24-56), 23.1 percent from beyond the arc (3-13) and 57.1 percent from the charity stripe (8-14). Old Westbury won the boards battle, 36-31, and scored 20 second chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. Old Westbury converted 26 Yeshiva turnovers into 34 points. Old Westbury committed 20 or more miscues for just the second time this season, finishing with 22.
NYU-POLY FIGHTING JAYS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns to the hardwood on Wednesday (February 6) in a Skyline Conference showdown against the NYU-Poly Fighting Jays in Brooklyn, New York. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Jacobs Gymnasium.
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