NEW YORK – The No. 6 Yeshiva University men's basketball team rallied from a second half deficit to defeat the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 77-58, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Wednesday evening. The nationally ranked Maccabees extend their winning streak to 33 games, dating back to last season, and start the 2020-21 campaign 4-0.

Merchant Marine (0-1) jumped out in front, 35-33, during the opening minutes of the second stanza which put Yeshiva's historic win streak in danger. However, sophomore guard Matan Zucker was able to catapult Yeshiva out of its in-game slump with five straight points to put the defending Skyline Conference Champions in the lead for good, at 38-35, with 17:06 remaining. Later in the stanza, the Maccabees blitzed the Mariners with a 13-2 run to earn a commanding lead, and then eventually a wide-margin victory. 

"Good second half by our guys," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "They made a decision at halftime to turn things around on the defensive end and it led to better execution overall."

For the Maccabees, junior guard Ryan Turell scored a game-high 30 points, shooting 12-for-18 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range, while grabbing seven rebounds, forcing three steals, distributing a pair of assists, and blocking just as many shots.

Senior forward Gabriel Leifer tallied his third double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and bringing down a game-best 16 rebounds. The Lawrence native also led all players with eight assists and came up big on the defensive end with three steals.

Senior guard Eitan Halpert had a solid evening with 12 points and seven assists.

The Maccabees got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 21-11 hold just under 11 minutes into the game. The Mariners did not allow themselves to fall into a deeper hole as their defense held the high-powered Macs' offense to just two points in a span of 3:32. During that stretch, Merchant Marine scored 11 points to pull to within one, at 23-22, with 5:48 remaining in the opening half.

After USMMA tied the game at 27, Leifer converted a layup to put the Maccabees up by two with 1:53 to go in the period. The visiting team countered as a 3-point field goal by freshman guard Gavin Green put YU at a one-point deficit (30-29) with 1:14 left to play. After a free throw by junior forward Blaine McDonough increased USMMA's lead to two, Turell helped the Maccabees finish the opening stanza on a positive note by converting a layup in the closing seconds to send both teams into the locker rooms tied at 31 points apiece.

In the early stages of the second half, senior guard James Walsh passed the ball to McDonough who finished the play off with a layup to propel the Mariners back in the lead, 35-33, and putting YU's long unbeaten streak in jeopardy.

However, Zucker came up big on the next possession as he took a feed from first-year guard Adi Markovich and converted on a layup in the paint to tie the game at 35. On Yeshiva's next possession, Zucker struck again by successfully executing another layup, this time while being fouled. He nailed the shot from the charity stripe to give the Maccabees a 38-35 advantage with 17:06 remaining in regulation time.

Just 39 seconds later, with YU up 38-37, Leifer capitalized on a layup attempt that began an 8-0 run for the Blue and White, that concluded with Turell's successful shot from downtown to give the Maccabees a more comfortable 46-37 benefit with 14:39 to go. After Merchant Marine cut the deficit to seven, Leifer scored the game's next five points, including a 3-point basket that inflated YU's cushion to 51-39. The Mariners were not done yet, as a 7-2 run shrunk the home team's lead to 53-46 with 8:23 remaining.

Shortly after that, Yeshiva got hot from beyond the arc, as freshman guard Oren Betesh's long-range shot put USMMA in a 57-48 hole. After both teams exchanged 2-point field goals, Turell and Halpert combined for back-to-back shots from downtown to increase Yeshiva's hold to 65-53 with 5:28 left to play. Less than two minutes later, Betesh drained another shot from downtown to balloon Yeshiva's lead to 69-55. Back-to-back 3-point field goals by Leifer and Turell capped off 11 straight points for the Maccabees and gave them their largest lead of the evening, 77-55, with 1:35 left to go.

Yeshiva went 6-for-7 from beyond the arc during the final 7:35 of the contest and went on to earn their 33^rd consecutive win, 77-58.

Zucker finished the game with seven points and eight rebounds for the Maccabees. The Mariners were led by Walsh, who tallied 22 points, five rebounds, and three assists. His teammate McDonough added 10 points.

Yeshiva will return to the Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening for the first of a home-and-home series with the University of Saint Joseph. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m.