NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought non-conference loss to Baruch College, 76-73, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening. The contest came down to the final play, but Baruch was able to hang on to advance to 8-2, while Yeshiva falls to 7-5.
 
In the closing seconds of the game, with the Bearcats up 76-73, senior guard Jordan Hod received the inbounds pass and heaved up a desperation shot from beyond half-court. The ball hit the rim but rattled off, just as the buzzer sounded.
 
Baruch had the lead for the majority of the first half. Down 40-35, the Maccabees scored the final five points of the period, capped off by a three-point field goal from sophomore guard Judah Cohen, to go into the intermission tied at 40. YU was down by as many as six in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Baruch got off to a strong start in the second stanza, going up 53-47, just 4:02 in. Yeshiva came storming back as a three-point field goal by freshman forward Daniel Katz capped off a 5-0 run to pull the home team to within one. Throughout the second half, Baruch would try to pull away, but Yeshiva always countered with a mini-run to stay within striking distance.
 
With 1:33 remaining in regulation, senior forward Dean Pienica drove into the paint and laid the ball up and in to pull the Maccabees to within three, at 74-71. Baruch could not score a basket in two straight offensive possessions. A layup by senior forward Michael Berg narrowed the visiting team's lead to one, at 74-73, with 23 seconds remaining, much to the delight of the packed raucous crowd.
 
After Baruch missed a free throw on a one-and-one, Yeshiva had the ball with 16 seconds remaining and a chance to win. However, a turnover gave the ball back to the Bearcats. William Sixsmith hit a pair of free throws, after getting intentionally fouled, to extend the Bearcats' lead to 76-73 with five seconds remaining.
 
The Maccabees had one more chance to tie, but Hod's shot from beyond half-court just missed, and the Bearcats earned a hard-fought non-conference win.
 
For the evening, Pienica led all players with 20 points. Cohen and Hod each produced 10 points, with the former dishing out three assists and the latter producing five dimes. Freshman forward Bar Alluf added 11 points, which includes going 6-6 from the free throw line. Katz added nine points and a team-high six rebounds, while Berg produced six points with three assists.
 
Yeshiva will play its final game before the winter break on Monday, at Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham, beginning at 7:00 p.m.