NEW YORK – The nationally-ranked No. 17 Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory over St. Joseph's College Long Island in the regular season finale, by a score of 83-69, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening. Yeshiva ends the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record in league games, while earning its 24^th straight victory to advance to 24-1 for the year. St. Joseph's Long Island concludes the year at 7-17 overall and 2-14 against conference competition.

"Just really proud of these guys," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "A 16-0 record in the conference is as good as it gets in the regular season. Now we have to continue to find ways to win every day."

YU had five players reach double-figures in scoring. Leading the way for the Maccabees was senior forward Gabriel Leifer, who tallied his 20^th double-double of the season with 18 points and 17 rebounds, while dishing out five assists and forcing two steals. Senior guard Simcha Halpert had a strong game with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Freshman guard Ofek Reef tallied 14 points, brought down five boards, and distributed a pair of assists.

The Maccabees got off to a slow start, as a 3-point field goal by senior guard Doug Niblock gave the Golden Eagles a 19-14 advantage with 10:35 left to play in the opening half. The Maccabees responded to the challenge by scoring eight straight points to take a three-point lead. Junior forward Caleb Milobsky began the rally with a layup, and then sophomore guard Ryan Turell capped it off with a pair of free throws with 8:51 remaining. The Golden Eagles battled the Maccabees tough throughout the opening half, as a layup by Niblock allowed St. Joseph's to retake the lead, 33-31, with 2:11 remaining. Yeshiva finished the period strong, as a layup by Leifer and a pair of free throws from senior forward Daniel Katz gave the Macs a 35-33 edge at the intermission.

Halpert opened the second stanza with a successful shot from downtown to increase YU's hold to 38-33. After the Golden Eagles countered with a basket, Yeshiva surged to nine straight points. Leifer concluded YU's blitz by converting a layup and being fouled at the same time. He added a shot from the charity stripe to complete the traditional three-point play to put the Blue and White up, 47-35, with 15:08 remaining in regulation time. St. Joseph's would not go down without a fight, as a layup by senior forward Jonah Caldwell concluded a 10-2 run by SJCLI to shrink Yeshiva's lead to 51-49, with 10:44 to go.

The Maccabees tilted momentum in their favor, later in the half, as a steal and fast break layup courtesy of Halpert put the finishing touches on Yeshiva's 9-0 run that inflated its advantage to 63-50, with 7:16 left to play in regulation. The Los Angeles native struck again a few minutes later, as his successful shot from downtown increased Yeshiva's cushion to 18, at 70-52, with 4:40 to go. From that point, St. Joseph's managed to get the deficit down to as many as 12, but it was not enough as the Macs clinched a perfect Skyline regular season record with the 83-69 victory.

For the Maccabees, Turell and senior guard Bar Alluf each tallied 10 points, with the latter grabbing three rebounds. Milobsky generated nine points, while Katz netted two points, delivered four assists, and clutched a pair of boards. Fourth-year forward Kevin Bokor scored two points and brought down a rebound.

For the Golden Eagles, Caldwell had a game-high 29 points and added 10 rebounds. Senior guard Frank Basile also had a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards.

Prior to tip-off, Yeshiva University honored six of its graduating seniors, Sammy Mandel, Bokor, Alluf, Tyler Hod, Katz, and Halpert with a ceremony.

The first-place Maccabees will host eighth-seeded United States Merchant Marine Academy, in a Skyline Conference Quarterfinal contest at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday, beginning at 8:00 p.m. Fans, be sure to check out yumacs.com and all of Yeshiva Athletics' social media channels for more details during the days leading up to the Skyline Championships.