BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a convincing Skyline victory over St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, 99-84, at the Hill Center on Thursday evening. The Maccabees, who have now won a program-record 15 straight games, clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming Skyline Conference championships.

Yeshiva remains in first-place by a game and a half over second-place Farmingdale State. The magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed (a combination of YU wins and FSC losses) is three.  

"Happy to know we get to play at home in the semi-finals," Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "No place like playing at the Max Stern Athletic Center. The guys worked hard and hopefully can keep this going with defense."

Leading the way for Yeshiva (15-5, 14-2 Skyline) was junior guard Simcha Halpert, who scored a game-high 32 points. The Los Angeles native converted eight 3-point field goals and grabbed three rebounds. Junior forward Gabriel Leiferproduced a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while blocking two shots, and forcing four steals. Freshman guard Ryan Turell scored 24 points, converting 11 out of 18 field goal attempts in the process, and brought down seven boards to go along with four.

The Maccabees never trailed at any point in the game. In the early stages of the contest, Turell forced a steal, drove to the basket, and dunked the ball to give Yeshiva an 11-0 cushion. The Bears (9-14, 7-11 Skyline) rallied by scoring nine unanswered points to tie the game, 13-13, with 14:19 remaining in the opening half. Later in the period, with the game tied 16-16, a 3-point field goal by junior guard Daniel Katz gave Yeshiva the lead for good and sparked an 11-4 run to put St. Joseph's in a seven-point deficit.

With 4:29 to go before intermission, a pair of free throws by junior guard Sebastian Etheart narrowed YU's lead to 43-32. However, the Maccabees finished the period strong by outscoring the Bears, 12-4, in the final 3:36 of the half to take a commanding 55-36 lead at the break. It was Turell's second dunk of the contest that sparked Yeshiva's strong finish to the stanza.

In the second half, a 3-point field goal by senior forward Tal Gweta gave the Maccabees a 66-44 hold with 15:36 remaining in regulation time. Later in the period, Katz struck again from beyond the arc to give the Blue and White its largest lead of the game, 94-67. YU went on to earn a program-record 14^th Skyline victory of the season, by a score of 99-84.

For the Maccabees, Gweta produced nine points, dished out three assists, blocked just as many shots, and grabbed two boards. Katz had seven points to go along with three dimes, grabbed four rebounds, and two steals. Senior guard Justin Hod drained a 3-point field goal, while sophomore guard Eitan Halpert scored two points and forced a steal. Freshman guard Jeffrey Owen distributed three assists, clutched two rebounds, and forced a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Caleb Milobsky brought down five rebounds, while senior forward Michael Hayon added four boards of his own.

For the Bears, freshman guard Bryan Medy scored a team-high 25 points, clutched six rebounds, distributed four assists, and collected three steals. Sophomore guard Frank Reali added 16 points, while Etheart tallied 11 points with eight rebounds. Junior forward Kavan Meiner had nine boards, four blocked shots, and five points.

The Maccabees will travel to Kings Point, on Sunday, for a Skyline matchup at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.