PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team showed resilience in a tale of two halves against St. Joseph's University Long Island (10-11, 7-6 Skyline) Wednesday night, with a 74-65 win.
 
The Maccabees (13-9, 10-3 Skyline) got off to a slow start and were down by as much as 13 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles frustrated the Macs, controlling the paint with 14 first-half points compared to Yeshiva's six. Sophomore guard Zevi Samet had 11 of the team's 20 first-half points, as they entered halftime down seven.
 
The energy was different in the second half, as the Macs came out firing on all cylinders. The bench was roaring, and the Macs were scoring right out the gate. In the first four minutes, Yeshiva went on a 15-0 run, capitalizing on turnovers and hitting timely shots. Sophomore guard Max Zakheim was a huge factor in the second half turnaround, with 17 second half points, shooting 3/5 from behind the arc. Zakheim played strong from inside as well and shot an impressive 6/7 from the line.
 
The reason for the turnaround? Turnovers, as senior forward Matan Zucker had three of Yeshiva's 10 steals in the second half after only managing one steal as a team in the first 20 minutes. Yeshiva scored 15 points off those turnovers in the second stanza. To put that into perspective, the Golden Eagles mustered only eight points off turnovers the whole game. 
 
Zakheim and junior guard Oren Betesh led the team in rebounds with seven apiece, and Samet's team-high 21 points allowed the Macs to cruise to victory. Freshman forward Roy Itcovichi netted 14 points, while grabbing a pair of boards and collecting just as many steals. Zucker generated 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
 
This win extended the Maccabees' winning streak to three games as Yeshiva still controls its own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the Skyline Conference. With their win Wednesday night, the Macs are currently tied with Farmingdale State College for first place overall in the conference standings.

"Proud of the guys for an inspiring second half run," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "They executed on both sides of the ball and just played beautiful team basketball."
 
Up Next: The Maccabees will look to extend their winning streak at home against the College of Mount Saint Vincent (11-10, 7-5 Skyline) on Saturday, February 11, at 8:30 PM ET. It will be Senior Night as graduating seniors Gabriel Landau, Ryan Bokor, and Zucker will be honored with a ceremony prior to tipoff.