NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a thrilling come-from-behind Skyline victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 70-65, in overtime at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

The Maccabees (5-6, 4-4 Skyline) trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, but would outscore the Mariners (4-3, 3-2 Skyline), 37-20, in the remaining 15:22 of regulation to force overtime and come out on top.

"I thought we got great minutes tonight from some guys who don't usually get a ton of them," Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "The ability of our guys to stay ready and be prepared was huge for us against a first place team."

One of the players who stepped it up was freshman guard Yoav Deutsch, who played in just his second game of his collegiate career. He took advantage of the opportunity by grabbing five rebounds, facilitating three assists, scoring a point, and forcing a steal. No stranger to scoring is sophomore guard Simcha Halpert, who led all players with 29 points. The Los Angeles resident brought down eight caroms, blocked three shots, dished out an assist, and forced a steal.

In the first half, the Mariners jumped out to an early 18-9 lead. A 3-point field goal by junior guard Justin Hod propelled Yeshiva to an 8-0 run, capped off by a shot from beyond the arc by Halpert, to narrow USMMA's lead to 18-17, with 8:38 left in the first half. Just over two minutes later, sophomore forward Bar Alluf successfully executed a pair of free throws from the charity stripe to tie the game, 19-19.

The Mariners completely shifted momentum into their favor by scoring 12 unanswered points, in a span of 3:52, to take a commanding 31-19 advantage with just over two minutes remaining. Yeshiva went into the intermission down by a score of 35-23.

In the second half, Merchant Marine managed to build its lead to 17, at 42-25, with 15:57 remaining in regulation time. This time, it would be Yeshiva that would answer with a run, as a 3-point field goal by Halpert capped off a 12-2 run to pull the home team to within seven, at 44-37, with 12:40 to go.

Down 51-42, Alluf drained a 3-point field goal to narrow USMMA's lead to six, with 8:19 remaining. Less than two minutes later, a layup by junior forward Michael Hayon pulled Yeshiva to within three, at 51-48. With less than five minutes remaining, Halpert drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game, 53-53. With the game knotted, 55-55, Halpert converted a layup while being fouled. He took advantage of the free throw opportunity from the charity stripe to put Yeshiva ahead, 56-55.

After Merchant Marine regained the advantage, Alluf drew a foul while attempting a 3-pointer. He was awarded three free throws, and was successful in all three attempts to give YU the lead, 59-57, with 2:37 remaining in regulation time. The visiting team rallied to take a narrow 62-61 advantage with 1:11 to go in the second half. Deutsch drew a foul and hit one out of two free throws to tie the game.

With four seconds left to play, the Mariners drew a foul and had a chance to win the game on free throws. However, George Hatzioannides missed both opportunities from the charity stripe and Halpert grabbed the defensive rebound. He hustled and launched a shot, from just in front of half court, which rattled in and out of the rim at the buzzer. The game needed overtime to decide the winner.

The Maccabees fell behind by three early in the overtime period, but Halpert nailed back-to-back 3-point shots to take the lead. That would be all Yeshiva needed as the Maccabees' defense kept the Mariners scoreless for the remainder of the overtime. Sophomore guard Tyler Hod nailed two free throws down the stretch to clinch the key Skyline win for Yeshiva.

For the game, Alluf scored 16 points, shooting 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and successfully converting all seven of his free throws. He also brought down seven rebounds, had an assist, and blocked a shot. Hayon added 11 points with six rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot, and one steal.

Tyler Hod scored four points, had just as many dimes, grabbed two caroms, and forced a steal. Justin Hod had two rebounds and an assist to go along with his 3-point field goal. Junior forward Tal Gweta added two points, with two steals and a block, while sophomore forward Daniel Katz also scored two points, while adding two rebounds, just as many steals, and one assist. Sophomore forward Kevin Bokor scored two points, grabbed just as many rebounds, had an assist, and blocked a shot. Senior forward Ethan Gipsman had a pair of boards and an assist.

Yeshiva will return to the friendly confines of the Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday, for a Skyline Conference matchup against Maritime College, beginning at 8:00 p.m.