NEWBURGH, N.Y. - Mount Saint Mary College junior Steve Phillips (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) provided a much-needed spark in the second half as the Knights (19-7) squeaked out a Skyline Conference Tournament quarterfinal over Yeshiva (11-15) by a final score of 52-44.

With the Mount leading by one (26-25) four minutes into the second half, senior Ryan Straub (Massapequa, N.Y.) drained a three to spark an 8-0 run for the Knights.  Yeshiva freshman Yosef Rosenthal (West Hempstead, N.Y.) broke up the run with a three, but Mount junior Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) fired right back with another three to push the lead back to nine.  Then, at the 8:51 mark, Phillips slashed to the basket with a nifty crossover move to push the lead to double digits (39-28, Knights).

Unwilling to go away, the Maccabees responded with an 11-1 run over the next four-plus minutes.  Back-to-back threes from junior Eitan Selevan (Teaneck, N.J.) and senior Dovie Hoffman (Tarzana, Calif.) brought Yeshiva to within one (40-39) as the clock ticked under four minutes.

Mount junior Chris Pisciotta (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) made one-of-two at the line with 2:58 remaining to make it 41-39, but Yeshiva's Hoffman drained a three on the ensuing possession to give the Maccabees their first lead of the second half.  Mount junior Joe Henain (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) answered with a bucket in the paint to regain the lead for the Knights at 43-42 and when Yeshiva turned it over at the other end, Mount junior Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) made one-of-two at the line to make it a two-point game.

On Yeshiva's next trip down, senior Gil Bash (Tel Aviv, Israel) made a nice move to the basket and found junior Shlomo Weissberg (Skokie, Ill.) open for an easy two to tie the game at 44.  Howell carved his way to the bucket on the next Mount possession and his layup with 59 seconds remaining made it 46-44.  Bash missed a floating jumper at the other end and Yeshiva fouled Henain with 37 seconds left.  The junior drained both attempts to make it a four-point game.  He then blocked Rosenthal's attempt in the paint, sending the rebound to Phillips, who was promptly fouled.  He missed the front end of the one-and-one, but collected his own rebound and was fouled once again.  This time, he sank both attempts to put the game out of reach.

Phillips would finish with just the six points, but his ball-handling and defense served as a much-needed calming influence on the Knights.  Howell led the team with 15 points on 5-of-10 from the field, while Stabach and Henain each pitched in with eight points.  The Mount shot just 32.0-percent for the game and connected on just 5-of-21 from three.

Hoffman led Yeshiva with 12 points, while Weissberg just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.  Bash, who went just 4-for-19 from the field, finished with nine points and five assists.

Mount Saint Mary advances to play Purchase College in the Skyline Tournament semifinals on Thursday.  The game, which will follow a women's semifinal, is set to tip at 8:00 p.m.