Yeshiva head men's basketball coach, Dr. Jonathan Halpert became the seventh mentor in New York City basketball history to record his 400th career victory Thursday night at Max Stern Athletic Center, on the court dedicated less than one year ago in his honor, as the Maccabees captured a 72-50, Skyline Conference triumph over visiting Maritime (N.Y.) College.
YU (2-5, 2-2 Skyline) received an 18-point, eight-assist effort from senior Gil Bash (Tel Aviv, Israel), as the Maccabees shot .643 (27-for-42) from the floor – marking the team's third-consecutive outing with a .500-plus percentage. Junior low-post player, Shlomo Weissberg (Skokie, Ill.) shot 7-for-9 from the field en route to a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, while senior Dovie Hoffman (Tarzana, Calif.) and junior Benjy Ritholtz (W. Hempstead, N.Y.) poured in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Yeshiva held a decided 38-20 advantage on points in the paint over the Privateers (0-6, 0-2), who were led by Ron Bethea's 18-point night.
With the score knotted at 20-all with 5:42 to go in the first half, Hoffman's jumper in the paint started an 11-1 run for the Maccabees over the next 4:07, helping YU to a 33-27 halftime advantage that the hosts would never relinquish.
Halpert, who is the 29th active NCAA Division III men's basketball coach to have 400 wins to his name [most recent: Todd Raridon, of No. 4 North Central College (Ill.), Nov. 20, 2012 vs. Aurora University], now ranks among the following New York City men's college basketball coaching career victories leaders:
- Lou Carnesecca, St. John's – 526 victories
- Howard Cann, New York University – 429
- Joe Nesci, New York University – 424
- Nat Holman, City College of New York – 423
- Ray Rankis, Baruch – 419
- Claire Bee, Rider/LIU Brooklyn – 412
- Dr. Jonathan Halpert, Yeshiva – 400
Halpert has been involved with Yeshiva since his schoolboy days, when he attended Yeshiva High School for Boys in New York. He garnered his bachelor's degree from YU in 1966, and later received a Ph. D. from Yeshiva's Ferkauf Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1978. The 2012-13 campaign marks Halpert's 41st as head coach at YU, which is believed to make him the fourth-longest tenured head men's basketball coach across all three NCAA divisions (Jim Smith, Saint John's of Minnesota – 49th season; Herb Magee, Philadelphia University – 46th season; Glenn Robinson, Franklin and Marshall – 42nd season).
Yeshiva opened a basketball court, which was named in Halpert's honor after the 2011-12 campaign, on its Wilf Campus in 1985. From the opening of the gym in 1985, Halpert owns a 334-318 record, and led the Maccabees to 15-straight .500-plus records (1987-88 to 2001-02). He has coached four teams to the Eastern College Athletic Conference postseason championship tournaments (first: 1996-97), as well as the Skyline Conference playoffs in 10 of the last 13 seasons.
Halpert has received a pair of Skyline Conference Coach of the Year awards (1999-00, 2009-10), as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) "Guardians of the Game" honor in 2003-04. The Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) bestowed him with its "Good Guy" award in 1997-98, and he led YU to a pair of College Basketball Officials Association (CBOA) Sportsmanship Award in 1979-80 and 1996-97. During his illustrious career, Halpert has coached over 300 student-athletes, including a trio of father/son tandems – including his son, Rafi, who is in his first season as an assistant coach for his father at YU.