BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked No. 24 Yeshiva University men's basketball team grinded out a hard-fought come-from-behind Skyline victory over Sarah Lawrence College, 74-72, at the Campbell Sports Center on Tuesday evening.
Yeshiva was down 72-71, with the ball, in the closing seconds. Sophomore guard Ryan Turell looked like he was going to attempt to drive to the basket, but instead turned around and dished the ball out to senior forward Gabriel Leifer, who nailed a wide-open 3-point field goal from the corner with six seconds remaining to give the Maccabees a 74-72 advantage. That turned out to be the game-winning shot as YU's defense came up with a big stop at the end to clinch the victory.
The Maccabees advance to 15-1 overall, including 15 straight wins since the season opener, and have won all eight conference games thus far. The Gryphons drop to 7-10 overall, and 3-5 against league competition.
"Our two superstars dragged us to a victory," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "I think our toughness is important. This victory shows the mental toughness we have. First time playing as a nationally-ranked team and you have an opponent that is playing its Super Bowl against you. Give them (Sarah Lawrence) credit, they played a great game and they were tough as nails. In the end, we got the 'W' and that's all that matters."
Turell scored 34 points, while grabbing six rebounds and distributing three assists. Leifer produced his 12th double-double of the year with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while forcing a game-high six steals and adding three assists.
Turell explained his thought process during the possession that featured the game-winning basket. "I told Gabe a couple plays earlier, 'it has to be one of us that shoots the ball, or to get the offense going,'" Turell said. "When I drove in, I saw his man come towards me and I saw Gabe wide open. I kicked it out to him, and he drained it. Clutch players make clutch plays."
The Maccabees got off to a strong start, thanks to two field goals from inside the arc by Turell, and senior guard Simcha Halpert draining three consecutive shots from the charity stripe, propelling YU to an early 7-0 lead. However, the Gryphons answered with 10 straight points to go up by three.
After YU fell behind, 19-15, Leifer got the Macs back on track by grabbing an offensive rebound and supplying a putback to slice the opposition's advantage in half, with 10:49 remaining in the opening period. Less than a minute later, freshman guard Ofek Reef found Simcha Halpert, who drained a 3-point field goal to give the Macs the lead again, at 20-19. Leifer struck again, with 8:27 left in the half, as his layup capped off a 9-0 Macs' run that put his team up by a score of 24-19.
Yeshiva led by as many as 12 in the opening half, but Sarah Lawrence scored to slice the deficit to 33-24. That was the score after 20 minutes of play.
A 3-point field goal by Turell catapulted the Maccabees to a 38-29 hold, 1:20 into the second half. The Gryphons would not go down quietly, as the home team scored seven straight points to pull to within two.
Yeshiva kept getting timely baskets but could not shake its opponent, as SLC kept answering to stay within striking distance. The Macs did finally put some distance between themselves and the Gryphons, as a 3-point field goal by junior guard Eitan Halpert capped off a 6-1 YU run that put the visiting team up by 10, at 67-57, with 3:45 remaining in regulation time. Once again, Sarah Lawrence showed its resiliency by scoring 10 straight points, in a span of 1:32, to even the game at 67 points apiece, much to the delight of the raucous crowd at the Campbell Sports Center.
Junior forward Caleb Milobsky temporarily halted Sarah Lawrence's momentum by converting a layup to allow YU to regain the lead, at 69-67, with 1:52 left to play. SLC countered on the next possession, as first-year guard Chris Torres found junior forward Enike Anyia, who drained a key shot from beyond the arc to give Sarah Lawrence its first lead since the early stages of the first half, 70-69.
With 45 ticks left on the clock, Turell drew a foul and went to the line. He hit two clutch shots from the charity stripe to move Yeshiva in front, 71-70. Once again, Sarah Lawrence came up big as sophomore guard Omar Jamaleddine nailed a jump shot to push SLC to a one-point lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Yeshiva elected not to call a timeout and Turell dribbled the ball down the court. He gave the ball to Milobsky, who gave it back to Turell. He began driving to the basket which drew defensive bodies on him, but then the Los Angeles native turned around and kicked it out to a wide-open Leifer, who drained the go-ahead 3-point basket to give Yeshiva a 74-72 advantage with six seconds left.
"I knew that Ryan was driving, Ryan was going all game. He kept getting to the line and getting free points at the line," Leifer said. "When he was driving, I wasn't sure he saw me, but knowing the player that he is, of course he saw me. He found me in the corner and that's what you need to do in a big moment, if you want to win. You just have to take the shot if you are open."
The Gryphons had one last chance to tie or win the game but could not connect on a 3-point field goal attempt and the ball went out of bounds with 0.2 left on the clock. Leifer deflected the inbound pass to clinch Yeshiva's 15th straight victory.
For the game, Eitan Halpert had five points and two assists. "Eitan played really hard tonight," Turell said. Simcha Halpert added six points.
Anyia scored 22 points to lead Sarah Lawrence.
The Maccabees will return to the friendly confines of the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening, for a Skyline Conference showdown against Purchase College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.