WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned its tenth consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon, knocking off Eastern Connecticut State by a score of 83-75, at the Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. The Macs advance to 10-1, while the Warriors drop to 3-5.
Senior guard Simcha Halpert reached the 1,500-career point plateau during the contest, becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn the scoring milestone. In fact, Halpert moves into sole possession of fourth place on YU's all-time scoring list with 1,517 points. He surpasses Harvey Scheff ('82) who netted 1,500 points during his illustrious career.
"The milestone is pretty cool, but we are on a mission this year," Halpert said. "The milestone really means nothing without a conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Division III tournament."
Halpert reached the milestone by taking a feed from senior forward Gabriel Leifer and draining a 3-point basket, 5:09 into the game. The historic basket gave the Maccabees a 12-9 advantage.
"Simcha is one of the most selfless human beings I have ever been around," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "He could be scoring at an even higher clip, as hard as it is to believe, but he's just all about the team and winning. I am happy for him but even more impressed with his constant team first attitude and leadership."
The Maccabees got off to a fast start in the game, as a layup by freshman guard Ofek Reef put his team up by a score of 16-9, with 14:01 left in the first half. Later in the stanza, Leifer converted a layup that increased YU's lead to 22-17.
However, the Warriors answered with 15 unanswered points in a span of 3:40 to jump out to a 32-22 hold with 6:46 remaining in the period. Senior forward Daniel Katz got the Macs out of their slump by converting a pair of free throws. With 5:04 remaining in the first half, senior guard Jake Collagan of Eastern Connecticut drained a shot from downtown to put YU in an 11-point hole, at 38-27.
The Maccabees did not let the deficit get to them, as they finished the first half on 12-5 run to pull to within four, at 43-39, heading into the intermission. The highlights of Yeshiva's strong finish to the first half were successful shots from beyond the arc by Leifer and Halpert, as well as a layup by Reef.
In the early stages of the second half, a 3-point field goal by Halpert, and a layup by Katz, pulled YU to within one. However, Eastern Connecticut went on a run to go back up by six, at 52-46, with 16:31 left to play in regulation time. The Maccabees countered with seven unanswered points, capped off by a layup from junior forward Caleb Milobsky, to propel YU to a 53-52 advantage.
Later in the period, with YU down by a score 59-57, Turell delivered a behind-the-back pass to Reef, who finished the play off with a layup to tie the game at 59 points apiece, with 11:09 remaining in regulation time. That began an 11-2 run by the Blue and White, which was highlighted by a traditional three-point play by Reef and a successful jump shot by Turell, that gave the Maccabees a 68-61 hold with 7:52 remaining. Just less than two minutes later, Halpert continued YU's momentum with a timely 3-point basket that inflated the Macs' hold to 74-63.
The Warriors managed to pull to within six a few times, but that was as close as they would get as the Maccabees were able to hit free throws during the final minute to clinch the key non-conference victory.
For the Macs, Leifer produced a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. The Lawrence native also forced five steals and distributed three assists. Halpert finished with 20 points, including six 3-point field goals, while dishing out three assists and grabbing just as many rebounds. Turell had 14 points, while Katz and Reef each scored 13. Milobsky had eight points with six rebounds. Senior guard Bar Alluf recorded three assists.
"We are working hard everyday to get better on the court and off," Halpert said. "We know if we play the right way, there is no team that can stop us. Looking forward to what this year has in store."
Yeshiva has completed the four-game road trip and will return to the friendly confines of the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday evening, for a non-conference showdown against New Jersey City University. Tip-of is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.