NEW YORK – The nationally-ranked No. 21 Yeshiva University men's basketball team made history on Tuesday evening, defeating St. Joseph's College Brooklyn (8-14, 4-9 Skyline) by a score of 94-62, at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Thanks to the win, and losses by Purchase College and the College at Old Westbury, Yeshiva (21-1, 13-0 Skyline) has clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Skyline Conference Championships. It's the first league regular season title in program history.

"Nice to know we've locked in home court," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "The guys have worked hard, but there's still a lot for this team to accomplish."

Leading the way for the Maccabees was senior forward Gabriel Leifer, who notched the second triple-double of his career with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and just as many assists.

Yeshiva had balanced scoring with five players reaching double-figures and shared the ball well by dishing out 32 assists as a team. In fact, Yeshiva shot 29-for-32 (90.6%) from inside the arc.

"I'm so proud of how hard this team has worked and all they have accomplished," Yeshiva University Director of Athletics, Joe Bednarsh said. "I'm excited to be along for this ride with them."

Freshman guard Ofek Reef registered a game-high 18 points, while grabbing a pair of rebounds and distributing just as many assists. Sophomore guard Ryan Turell netted 15 points, brought down five rebounds, and delivered six assists. The Los Angeles native is just 10 points away from 1,000 in his young career. Fourth-year guard Simcha Halpert produced 12 points, while senior guard Bar Alluf added 10 points and three assists.

The Macs never trailed at any point in the game. The key of the contest was YU's 9-2 run in the early stages of the first half that gave the Maccabees a 26-15 advantage with 11:27 left to play in the period. The highlight of that scoring blitz was a layup converted by junior forward Caleb Milobsky, while being fouled, and then adding the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play.

Yeshiva finished the first half strong, as a 3-point field goal by Simcha Halpert gave the Blue and White its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes, at 48-32. The Bears scored from inside the arc before the end of the period and went into the intermission down by 14.

The Maccabees came storming out of the gate in the second half, as Simcha Halpert's successful shot from downtown gave Yeshiva a commanding 61-38 hold, with 15:46 remaining in regulation time. Later in the stanza, Leifer drained two shots from the charity stripe to clinch his second career triple-double, and put YU up by a score of 89-53, with 6:13 to go. The Maccabees went on to win their 21^st straight game and remain unbeaten in conference play.

For the evening, junior guard Eitan Halpert and Milobsky helped pace the Macs with nine points apiece, with the former forcing three steals and the latter grabbing five rebounds. Senior forward Daniel Katz had a solid game with eight points, six assists, and three rebounds.

Yeshiva will be back in action on Saturday, for a Skyline Conference contest against the defending league champion Farmingdale State Rams. Tip-off at the Max Stern Athletic Center is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.