FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – In a rematch of last year's Skyline championship game, The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a key conference road victory over Farmingdale State College, 79-72, at the Nold Hall Athletic Complex on Thursday evening. Yeshiva extends it winning streak to eight games (8-1 overall) and advances to 4-0 in conference contests. Farmingdale State drops to 0-1 in league play (3-5 overall).

It was a career-game for rookie guard Ofek Reef, as he tallied a personal-best 22 points (9-for-12 from the field) and distributed four assists. Senior guard Simcha Halpert also netted 22 points with four assists. Third-year forward Gabriel Leifer produced yet another double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, while adding six assists.

"Tough road win against the defending champs," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "Happy to see our guys competing and defending well down the stretch."

The Maccabees never trailed at any point in the game. A 3-point field goal by senior forward Daniel Katz gave Yeshiva the lead for good, 5-2, 1:08 into the contest. Later in the half, Reef executed a shot from downtown to give the Maccabees a commanding 14-6 hold. The Rams chipped away and managed to cut their deficit to seven, at 30-23, with 4:59 remaining in the stanza. However, Halpert answered with a 3-point shot to put the Blue and White back up by double-digits.

Yeshiva led by as many as 13 in the first period, but Farmingdale rallied with a 10-6 run in the final 2:33 to shrink the Macs' lead to 44-35 at the intermission.

Katz converted a layup, and then Leifer followed with a 3-pointer, to propel the Yeshiva to a 49-35 hold, less than two minutes into the second half. The Maccabees continued to build their advantage, as Leifer's layup gave the visiting team its largest lead of the game, at 56-41, with 14:14 left to play in regulation time.

Farmingdale had a rally in its bones, as a successful shot from downtown by senior guard Chaz Platt capped off an 11-2 run that narrowed the Macs' lead to 58-52 with 11:08 left to play. Reef found Halpert, who drained a timely shot from beyond the arc to give Yeshiva more breathing room and disrupt FSC's momentum. However, the Rams rallied again, this time with five unanswered points, to narrow YU's lead to 61-57 with 6:15 left in the second half.

With Farmingdale down by six, senior guard Ryan Kennedy drilled a 3-point shot to make it a one possession game, 63-60, with 5:34 left. After Reef converted a free throw for Yeshiva, Farmingdale struck again as senior guard Anthony Miller Jr. nailed a shot from downtown to shrink Yeshiva's lead to one, at 64-63, with 4:54 still left to play. Katz drained two clutch shots from the charity stripe to strengthen Yeshiva's grip to three. That began a stretch of seven unanswered points for the Maccabees, capped of by Halpert's 3-pointer to propel YU to a more comfortable 71-63 advantage with 3:25 to go.

The Maccabees increased their lead all the way up to 12, with 1:08 remaining. Farmingdale scored seven straight points to shrink the deficit to 77-72, with eight ticks left on the clock, but Katz hit two free throws to seal the 79-72 Skyline win for Yeshiva.

Katz finished the evening with 13 points and three assists. Senior guard Bar Alluf had a solid game with seven points, four rebounds, just as many steals, and three assists. Junior guard Eitan Halpert scored three points and added two rebounds, while classmate Caleb Milobsky added two points and a pair of boards.

For Farmingdale, senior guard Troy Feeney scored a team-high 16 points and added four rebounds. Classmate Jermaine Fraser just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Yeshiva will look to make it nine wins in a row on Sunday, as the Maccabees will continue its four-game road trip with a matchup against the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's College Long Island. Tip-off at the Danzi Center is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.