BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a key Skyline Conference victory on Sunday afternoon, defeating Sarah Lawrence College by a score of 70-55, at the Campbell Sports Center. The Maccabees (14-5, 12-2 Skyline) extend their winning streak to a program-record 13 games and remain on top of the Skyline standings. The Gryphons drop to 10-7 in the conference, and 12-10 for the season.
Leading the way for Yeshiva was junior guard Simcha Halpert, who successfully converted six 3-point field goals and scored 22 points. The Los Angeles native grabbed five boards, dished out two assists, and forced just as many steals. Junior forward Gabriel Leifer produced 19 points, while shooting 8-for-11 from the field, clutched seven caroms, distributed four assists, and forced just as many steals. Freshman guard Ryan Turell produced eight points with four dimes.
Yeshiva got off to a slow start, as Sarah Lawrence jumped out to a 13-10 advantage. Halpert launched a 3-point field goal to tie the game, which sparked an 18-6 run for YU. The rally was capped off by a successful shot from beyond the arc by junior forward Daniel Katz, which gave Yeshiva a commanding 28-16 advantage with 8:16 remaining in the opening half. However, the Gryphons answered with eight unanswered points to cut the Macs' lead to four.
Leifer disrupted the home team's momentum by converting on back-to-back layups to give the Maccabees a 32-24 lead with 2:35 left to play in the half. Yeshiva took a six-point hold (32-26) into the intermission.
Sarah Lawrence outscored Yeshiva, 23-15, in the first 9:51 of the second period to take a 49-47 lead. Halpert answered with a key 3-point field goal to put YU back up by one. That was the beginning of 15 unanswered points scored by Yeshiva, capped off by a layup from freshman guard Jeffrey Owen, to propel the Blue and White to a comfortable 62-49 advantage with six minutes remaining in regulation time. After the Gryphons pulled closer, Halpert once again nailed a timely 3-point shot to extend YU's lead to 65-51 with under four minutes left to play. Sarah Lawrence could not generate a rally to get back into the game, and Yeshiva went on to earn its 12th conference victory of the season, 70-55.
For the Maccabees, Katz scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, forced three steals, and had a pair of assists. Senior forward Michael Hayon also scored six points, while bringing down five rebounds. Fourth-year forward Tal Gwetascored five points with two assists, while Owen brought down six caroms and collected three steals. Junior guard Tyler Hod scored two points and added a rebound.
For Sarah Lawrence, junior forward B.J. Sanders produced a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Enike Anyia had 15 points with six boards, while first-year guard Omar Jamaleddine added 11 points, clutched eight boards, and forced three steals.
Yeshiva has concluded its five-game conference road trip and will return to the friendly confines of the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday, for a Skyline matchup against Old Westbury. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.