NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned its sixth consecutive victory on Thursday evening, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy by a score of 79-58, at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Yeshiva advances to 7-5 overall and 7-2 in Skyline play, while Merchant Marine drops to 1-7 this season and 0-5 in the conference.

Freshman guard Ryan Turell led all players in scoring with a career-high 31 points, shooting 12-17 in the process. Junior forward Gabriel Leifer once again produced a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while dishing out six assists and blocking three shots. Third-year guard Simcha Halpert added 11 points, five rebounds, just as many assists, and a pair of blocks.

As a team, the Maccabees shot 54.2 percent from the field.

In the late stages of the first half, Yeshiva held on to a one-point lead, at 28-27. Turell single-handedly tilted momentum into YU's favor by draining back-to-back 3-point field goals to give the Macs a commanding 34-27 hold with 3:48 left to play in the half. After the Mariners pulled to within two, Leifer extended YU's lead by converting a layup, while being fouled. He added the free throw to complete the three-point play to put Yeshiva back up by five, at 37-32 with less than a minute to go in the period. The Maccabees went into the intermission up 39-34.

Yeshiva continued the momentum out of the break, by scoring the first 12 points of the second half to take a 51-34 advantage. Turell started the run with a layup and Leifer capped it off by hitting a pair of shots from the charity stripe. The Macs' defense held the Mariners scoreless for the first 6:43 of the period, and 7:34 going back to the opening half.

The Maccabees increased their lead to as many as 28, thanks to freshman guard Jeffrey Owen nailing a field goal and drawing a foul on the same play. He converted the free throw for the three-point play to put YU up, 68-40, with 7:00 left to go. The Mariners did manage to pull to within 21, but it was not enough as Yeshiva earned its sixth consecutive Skyline victory, 79-58.

For the game, senior forward Michael Hayon had eight points with two boards. Junior forward Tal Gweta had a productive game with seven points, just as many rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocked shots. Owen added five points, grabbed two rebounds, and forced just as many steals. Junior forward Daniel Katz chipped in with two points and a pair of assists, while sophomore guard Eitan Halpert grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot.

Yeshiva will return to the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Wednesday, for a non-conference matchup against Moravian College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.