NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss to Baruch College, 83-73, at the ARC Arena on Saturday evening. The Bearcats advance to 2-0, while the Maccabees fall to 1-1.

Leading the way for Yeshiva was sophomore forward Bar Alluf, who scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out six assists, which were all team-highs. Classmate Simcha Halpert added 21 points with seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Junior forward Tal Gweta produced 11 points , while grabbing five rebounds, producing two helpers, and forcing just as many steals.

The Maccabees got off to a strong start, as Halpert forced a steal, and laid the ball up and in off a fast break, to give YU a 7-0 lead just over three minutes into the contest. Later in the half, sophomore forward Daniel Katzdrilled a pair of free throws, to give the Macs an 11-4 advantage with 14:20 remaining in the opening stanza.

From that point on, Baruch shifted momentum into its favor by going on a 20-7 run to jump out to a 24-18 advantage with 5:52 left in the period. Gweta put a halt to the Bearcats' momentum by knocking down a 3-point field goal to pull YU to within three, at 24-21. The home team ended the first half on a 22-13 run to take a 46-34 lead into the intermission.

Baruch went up by 21 with 12:29 left to play in regulation time. However, the Maccabees would not go down without a fight, as sophomore guard Tyler Hod, Halpert, and Alluf each drained a shot from beyond the arc to pull the visiting team to within 13, at 69-56, with 11:10 remaining in the second half.

The Bearcats regained momentum and went back up by 17 with 10:32 left to play. Later in the period, Alluf and Halpert combined to hit back-to-back threes to pull YU to within nine, at 80-71. After Baruch missed a shot on the next possession, Gweta grabbed the carom and launched a pass to Halpert, who laid it up and in on a fast break, to shrink the Bearcats' lead to 80-73, with 2:13 remaining in regulation time.

Yeshiva's rally would not be enough as Baruch was able to hang on and win the non-conference game, 83-73.

For the game, Tyler Hod chipped in with nine points, had one rebound, added an assist, and gained a steal. Katz scored seven points, grabbed just as many rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded one steal. Junior forward Michael Hayon brought down six rebounds, scored a point, and blocked a shot, while junior guard Justin Hod recorded two points. Sophomore forward Kevin Bokor grabbed five rebounds and added a helper.

Yeshiva will open up Skyline Conference play on Tuesday, against Sarah Lawrence College, at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.