BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a key Skyline Conference win over St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, 81-69, at the Hill Center on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Maccabees now clinch a berth in the upcoming Skyline Conference Championships for the third season in a row.

"It's a great accomplishment for the team and the program to be a part of the Skyline Conference Championships three years in a row," Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "Hopefully we can get on a roll and make a run, but I am really proud of the players and the work they put in to accomplish this."

Yeshiva (13-8, 9-4 Skyline) never trailed at any point in the contest. Leading the way was freshman guard Simcha Halpert, who scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed five rebounds. The Los Angeles resident went 10-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Senior guard Jordan Hod tallied 13 points, while sophomore guard Judah Cohen added 11 points with five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Michael Hayon had a solid game with 10 points and six rebounds.

In the first half, with YU up 27-18, Halpert drilled a three-pointer to give the Macs a commanding 12–point lead, with 6:47 left. With less than two minutes until intermission, Halpert drained another shot from downtown to make it 42-26 in favor of the Blue and White. Cohen nailed a shot from beyond the arc to increase YU's lead to 47-28, with 41 seconds left, and that would be the score at the end of the half.

Yeshiva came flying out of the gate to begin the second half, as a layup by Halpert capped off a 9-0 run, that began at the end of the previous period, to extend the Maccabees' lead to 51-28. Later in the half, Kevin Bokor converted a layup to give Yeshiva its largest lead of the afternoon, 80-56, with 5:53 left. The Bears (4-19, 1-13 Skyline) went on a run to narrow YU's lead to 12, but it was not enough as Yeshiva won the game to punch its ticket to the Skyline Conference Championships.

For the game, Berg scored six points, dished out a game-high five assists, and grabbed just as many boards. Senior forward Dean Pienica also scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, and forced a steal. Freshman forward Bar Alluf scored five points, while Bokor and freshman forward Daniel Katz each scored two. Sophomore guard Justin Hod, and freshman guard Tyler Hod each grabbed two rebounds, with the former also forcing a steal. Freshman guard Daniel Poleyeff produced a rebound of his own.

Yeshiva will travel to Long Island for a Skyline game against Farmingdale State on Tuesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.