ALBANY, N.Y. - The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned another key Skyline Conference victory on the road, this time over the Sage Colleges by a score of 75-68, at Kahl Gym on Tuesday evening. The Maccabees remain in the number five seed in the latest Skyline Conference standings, just a half game behind Old Westbury for fourth. Teams that finish the season in the top six earn a spot in the Skyline Conference Championships, with the third and fourth seeds earning a right to host a home game in the first round.

Yeshiva (11-6, 7-2 Skyline) was led by rookie phenom Simcha Halpert, who scored a team-high 21 points, with 16 of them coming in the second half. The Los Angeles resident also grabbed seven rebounds. Senior forward Michael Berg just missed a triple-double, scoring 12 points, with nine rebounds, while dishing out a game-high eight assists. Sophomore guard Judah Cohen contributed to the offense with 16 points.

The Maccabees led for the majority of the first half. Senior guard Jordan Hod drilled a three-point field goal to give the Macs a comfortable 28-18 advantage with 7:15 left. After Sage (11-9, 7-4 Skyline) rallied to pull within five, the Maccabees shifted momentum back into their favor. Senior forward Dean Pienica laid the ball up and in to cap a 7-0 run and give Yeshiva its largest lead of the half, 35-23, with just over two minutes remaining. The Gators scored the last nine points of the half to pull within three at the break.

In the early stages of the second stanza, Halpert drained back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to put Yeshiva back up by 10, 46-36. The home team responded by scoring seven unanswered points to make it a one possession game. Later in the period, Sage rallied to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, going up 57-56, with 8:22 left in regulation time. Yeshiva did not lose its composure as Berg converted a layup to help Yeshiva regain the lead for good, 58-57, with 6:52 remaining.

YU steadily increased its lead over the next few minutes. Cohen hit a spot-up three-pointer to give his team a commanding 69-61 advantage with 1:31 left. From that point on, Yeshiva hit some clutch free throws to pull away and earn the key Skyline win. 

Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz was very pleased with the performance of his unit. "When we play team basketball and look for each other, we are very tough to guard," Steinmetz said. "Tonight, our defense was strong and we had enough execution offensively to get a great road win."

For the game, Yeshiva produced 25 assists as a team. Jordan Hod scored nine points with four assists, three rebounds, and just as many steals. Pienica scored eight points, while dishing out six dimes, grabbing three boards, and forcing three steals. Sophomore forward Tal Gweta scored four points, while classmate Michael Hayon brought down just as many rebounds. Mamann had two rebounds, one assist, and one blocked shot. Freshman forward Daniel Katz recorded an assist.

Yeshiva will return to the friendly confines of the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday, for a Skyline tilt against Mount Saint Mary, beginning at 8:00 p.m.