NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team rallied to earn a victory in the Skyline Conference opener over Sarah Lawrence College, 91-81, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday evening. Yeshiva now advances to 2-1 overall, and 1-0 in Skyline play, while Sarah Lawrence falls to 0-3, and 0-1 in conference action.

The Maccabees trailed by as many as nine in the closing minutes of the first half, but outscored the Gryphons 51-41 in the second, to earn the key conference victory. Six players scored in double-figures for Yeshiva.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was sophomore guard Simcha Halpert, who produced a team-high 20 points, led the team with six rebounds, tied a game-high with five assists, blocked one shot, and forced a steal. Sophomore forward Bar Alluf chipped in with 15 points, brought down three boards, distributed four assists, and had one steal.  

Classmate Kevin Bokor tallied his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 4-5 from the field, while dishing out two assists and forcing three steals. Sophomore guard Tyler Hod scored a career-high 14 points, including two 3-point field goals, had two rebounds, registered a pair of assists, and helped out defensively with three steals.

"Great effort off the bench for us from (Tyler) Hod and (Kevin) Bokor," Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said.

The Maccabees got off to a slow start as the Gryphons jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, just 1:22 into the contest. Halpert and sophomore forward Daniel Katz combined to hit back-to-back 3-point shots to pull the Macs to within one.

Later in the half, with the game tied at 20, senior forward Ethan Gipsman took a feed from Alluf and laid it up and in to give the home-team a two-point lead with 9:30 left in the opening half. The Gryphons responded by going on an 18-9 run to take their largest lead of the game, at 38-29, with 3:45 left in the half.

The Maccabees would counter with a run of their own, by scoring 11 unanswered points in a span of 2:04, to take a 40-38 lead with 40 seconds left in the period. Highlighted in Yeshiva's rally was a 3-point shot and two free throws made by Halpert, while Tyler Hod's layup capped it off.

Sarah Lawrence hit a pair of free throws before the end of the half, and both teams went into the intermission with the score knotted at 40-40.

In the second half, Tyler Hod nailed a 3-pointer to put the Macs up, 45-42. With the contest tied, 47-47, junior guard Justin Hod laid the ball up an in to give the Maccabees the lead. After Sarah Lawrence pulled even, Justin Hod once again put Yeshiva in front, this time by hitting a pair of free throws. Sarah Lawrence knotted the game again, but for the third straight time, Justin Hod broke the tie, as he nailed a jumper to put Yeshiva up 53-51, with 14:42 left in regulation time. Less than two minutes later, Alluf took a feed from Halpert and drilled a shot from beyond the arc to give the Macs a five-point cushion.

Later in the stanza, Katz laid the ball up and in, while being fouled. He hit the free throw to complete the three-point play, the old fashioned way, to propel Yeshiva to a 61-55 lead with 11:40 remaining. On the Maccabees' next offensive possession, Katz received the ball from junior forward Tal Gweta and drained a 3-point field goal to extend YU's advantage to 64-57.

After Sarah Lawrence College pulled to within two, at 64-62, Yeshiva went on a 12-5 run, capped off by a 3-point basket from Halpert, to give the home team a commanding 76-67 lead with five minutes remaining in the second half. With 2:13 remaining, Alluf executed a layup to give Yeshiva its largest lead of the game, 85-73.

The Gryphons were not able to inch much closer as YU hit timely free throws down the stretch and went on to clinch the Skyline win, 91-81.

For the evening, Katz and junior forward Michael Hayon each scored 11 points, with the former grabbing five rebounds and distributing two assists, while the latter grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots. Justin Hod scored eight points with three assists, while blocking one shot and forcing a steal. Gweta dished out three assists and grabbed two boards.

Yeshiva will hit the road on Sunday, for a non-conference game at Williams College, beginning at 2:00 p.m.