NEW YORK - The nationally ranked No. 24 Yeshiva University men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a Skyline victory over St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, 84-58, at Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening. Yeshiva finishes the regular season with an impressive 22-3 overall record and 14-2 in conference play. The Maccabees clinch the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Skyline Conference Championships and will host sixth-seeded Purchase College, at Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m.

It was Senior Night as Yeshiva University honored graduating seniors Ryan Turell, Gabriel Leifer, Eitan Halpert, Jordan Armstrong, Alon Jakubowitz, Max Leibowitz, Aryeh Halpert, and Sammy Merkin. Team managers Menachem "Ari" Wallach and Jacob Finkelstein were also honored for their roles behind the scenes for the program. 

Leading the way for the Maccabees was sophomore Oren Betesh who tallied a team-best 17 points, on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range, while grabbing four rebounds and forcing a steal. Leibowitz had a strong performance on his Senior Night by netting a career-best 16 points, while distributing two assists, grabbing a rebound, and forcing a steal. Graduate student Jordan Armstrong impacted the game with eight points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots. Jakubowitz had five points, just as many rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. 

"So great to see guys who have worked hard all these years get a chance to compete and succeed the way they did," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "They deserve all the attention tonight."

Yeshiva fell behind early, 5-2, but a 3-point field goal by Aryeh Halpert tied the game. Later in the stanza, with the game tied at nine points apiece, Turell buried a shot from downtown to give the Maccabees the lead for good, at 12-9, with 13:36 remaining in the opening half. That highlighted 12 unanswered by the Macs to give them a commanding 19-9 hold with 11:37 remaining in the half. 

The Bears (3-22, 2-14 Skyline) could not get back into the game as Yeshiva inflated its lead all the way up to 31 before earning the 84-58 Skyline victory.

For the Maccabees, Turell finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds. Graduate student Ethan Lasko generated six points, five assists, three rebounds, and a pair of steals. Eitan Halpert netted seven points, delivered three assists, and brought down two rebounds. Sophomore Adi Markovich had a solid game with six points, three boards, and two assists. Junior Matan Zucker had five points, four rebounds, and just as many assists. Leifer clutched five rebounds and distributed three assists. Aryeh Halpert added two rebounds and an assist of his own.

For the Bears, senior Chris Mikos had a double-double with game-highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds.

Be sure to check out YUmacs.com, as well as our social media channels, for all the latest updates regarding YU's Skyline Quarterfinal game against Purchase College, on Tuesday night, at Max Stern Athletic Center.