NEW YORK – The nationally ranked No. 1 Yeshiva University men's basketball team was put to the test by Washington College (Md.) on Thursday evening, but the Maccabees were able to grind out an 85-76 victory at the Max Stern Athletic Center to remain undefeated.

The win did not come easy as YU trailed, 33-29, with 3:11 remaining in the opening half. The Shoremen still had the advantage with 1:26 left in the opening stanza, but the Maccabees finished the half strong by scoring six unanswered points to take a 42-38 lead after 20 minutes of play. Yeshiva led from wire-to-wire in the second half to secure its 48^th straight victory.

Senior Ryan Turell led all players with 25 points and secured five rebounds. Graduate student Gabriel Leifer generated a triple-double with 10 points, 16 assists, and 13 rebounds, while coming up big on the defensive end with four steals and three blocked shots. Junior Ofek Reef netted 20 points, shooting 8-for-9 from the field. Senior Eitan Halpert drained five 3-point field goals, snatched five boards, distributed four assists, and had a pair of steals.

Washington College gave Yeshiva a tough time in the first half by shooting 51.7% from the field, including 46.1% from beyond the arc, during the opening 20 minutes. Although Yeshiva jumped out to an early 10-point benefit in the early stages of the opening period, the Shoremen fought back with a 10-2 run to cut YU's lead to 24-22 with 8:23 to go. Sophomore Oren Betesh temporarily disrupted the opposition's momentum by draining a 3-point basket to extend YU's advantage to five. However, the visitors scored the next five points to tie the game, 27-27, with 7:01 to go.

After a pair of free throws by Leifer helped the Blue and White regain the upper hand, the visiting team surged to a 6-0 run to put Yeshiva in a 33-29 hole with 3:11 to go in the half. Sophomore Jason Zielinski began the run with a fastbreak layup and then classmate Sam Corrao capped it off with a successful jump shot and then two points from the charity stripe. The Maccabees countered with five straight points to retake the lead. However, sophomore Kedrick Frink put Washington back in front by nailing a shot from deep to put YU in a 36-34 deficit with 1:50 to go until the break. After each team exchanged successful jump shots, Halpert and Turell combined for back-to-back 3-point baskets to send the Maccabees into the intermission up by a score of 42-38.

With Yeshiva up by seven in the beginning of the second half, senior Tray Wright converted a layup to pull the Shoremen to within five, at 53-48, with 16:55 remaining in regulation time. Yeshiva answered by scoring eight unanswered points to take a commanding 61-48 hold with 15:25 remaining. Washington once again made the game close by going on a 6-0 run to slice Yeshiva's benefit to 61-54.

Later in the second period, Turell drained a free throw that began a 7-0 run that extended YU's advantage to 73-58 with 8:16 left to play. Yeshiva increased its cushion over the next several minutes as a 3-point field goal courtesy of Turell gave the Maccabees their largest lead of the evening at 85-66 with 2:36 to go. The Shoremen scored the final 10 points of the game but it would not be enough as Yeshiva was able to clinch its 12^th victory of the season.

For the Macs, graduate student Jordan Armstrong scored eight points, clutched two rebounds, and had just as many assists. Sophomore Adi Markovich added four points.

For Washington College, Wright had 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Corrao netted 15 points, while Zielinski recorded 11 points off the bench. Frink had 10 points, four rebounds, and just as many assists.

No. 1 Yeshiva will host Medgar Evers College, at the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Saturday evening. The non-conference contest is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.