THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team continues its winning ways, by defeating conference rival SUNY Maritime, 77-73, at Riesenberg Hall Gym on Monday evening. The Maccabees have now won three Skyline games in a row, and remain just two games back of SUNY Old Westbury in the loss column for first place.
 
The victory did not come easy, as the Privateers (5-15, 5-10 Skyline) nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit, and managed to pull within three in the closing minute of the contest. The Maccabees (10-7, 8-4 Skyline) were able to hit their free throws in the end to earn the hard-fought victory.
 
Yeshiva came storming out of the gate, outscoring the Privateers, 26-6, in the game's first 9:14. Maritime chipped away at Yeshiva's big advantage, eventually pulling to within seven, at 38-31, with just 2:03 left in the opening half.
 
After senior guard Shaje Weiss' layup put Yeshiva up by nine, senior forward Shelby Rosenberg forced a steal and nailed a three-point field goal to extend the Maccabees' lead to 43-31, with 45 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. That would be the score going into the intermission.
 
Just like in the beginning of the game, Yeshiva got off to a strong start in the second half as junior guard Jordan Hod forced a steal and converted a fast-break layup to give Yeshiva a 20-point advantage, at 56-36, with 15:04 remaining in regulation time.
 
The Privateers quickly turned momentum into their favor, scoring 14 unanswered points in a span of 4:04, to cut the Maccabees' lead to 56-50, with still 10:43 remaining.

Freshman guard Judah Cohen put an end to Maritime's run by nailing a field goal from beyond the arc, to extend Yeshiva's lead to 59-50.
 
Maritime would not go down without a fight, as the home team once again rallied to pull within three, at 72-69, with 1:16 left to play. Hod drew a foul and was able to hit both free throws to extend the Maccabees' lead to five.
 
The Privateers scored quickly to make it a one possession game. Weiss was fouled intentionally and hit both free throws to make it 76-71 in favor of the Maccabees, with 26 seconds left. The Privateers scored a two-point field goal with three seconds left. Rosenberg was fouled and went to the line. After missing the first free throw, he hit the second to clinch the victory for Yeshiva.
 
For the game, the Maccabees were led by Rosenberg who scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and forced seven steals. Weiss produced 14 points, while Hod scored 13. Junior forward Michael Berg produced a double-double, scoring 12 points, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds, and dishing out five assists.
 
Yeshiva will be back in action on Wednesday for another Skyline road game against Mount Saint Vincent. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.