NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team dropped its Skyline Conference matchup to the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 92-82, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening. Yeshiva falls to 3-4 overall, and 2-2 in Skyline play, while Mount Saint Vincent advances to 2-3 overall, and 1-1 in the conference.
Leading the way for Yeshiva was sophomore guard Simcha Halpert, who led all players with a career-high 37 points. He went 13-for-16 from the field and 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. The Los Angeles resident grabbed eight rebounds and distributed two assists. Sophomore forward Bar Alluf tallied a career-high 25 points, while bringing down five rebounds, dishing out a pair of assists, and blocking one shot.
The Maccabees came flying out of the gate, as a 3-point field goal by Halpert gave Yeshiva a commanding 23-9 lead, just 7:14 into the contest. The Dolphins would shift momentum into their favor by going on a 23-8 run, in a span of 8:28 to take a 32-31 advantage. Halpert drained back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to put the Macs back up, 37-32, with 3:12 remaining in the opening half. However, CMSV scored 11 unanswered points to take a 43-37 lead into the intermission.
The Dolphins continued to surge in the second half, earning their largest lead of the game at 69-51, with 11:28 remaining in regulation time. The home team would begin to chip away, as Halpert nailed another 3-point field goal to narrow Mount Saint Vincent's lead to 70-56. He later hit a pair of free throws to pull the Macs to within single-digits, at 74-65, with 7:30 left to play in the second half. Later in the period, Alluf successfully hit a shot from beyond the arc to narrow YU's deficit to 80-73, with 4:34 to go.
The Dolphins kept hitting timely shots to prevent the Maccabees from completing the comeback. Down by six, sophomore guard Tyler Hod hit a pair of free throws to narrow CMSV's lead to 86-82, with 55 seconds left in regulation. The Macs' defense was not able to get a stop on the next possession, as Mount Saint Vincent scored to go back up by six. Yeshiva could not get any closer, as CMSV went on to earn the Skyline win, 92-82.
For the game, sophomore forward Daniel Katz scored eight points, dished out a team-high five assists, and brought down a carom. Junior guard Tal Gweta and Tyler Hod each scored four points, with the former having four rebounds and an assist, while the latter added a rebound and an assist of his own. Sophomore forward Kevin Bokor added two points, dished out just as many assists, and grabbed two rebounds. Senior forward Ethan Gipsman scored two points, while junior guard Justin Hod distributed three assists.
Yeshiva will return to the Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday, for a Skyline Conference matchup against St. Joseph's College Long Island, beginning at 8:00 p.m.