NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory over perennial NCAA powerhouse Amherst College, 61-57, at Max Stern Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.

It was a back-and-forth contest throughout, with 12 lead changes and a tie score occurred on nine occasions.

Amherst (2-3) had a 54-51 edge with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, but Yeshiva (4-3) rookie phenom Zevi Samet hustled to the paint and converted a layup, while being fouled with 2:10 left. He added the free throw to complete the three-point play to tie the game at 54. After Yeshiva's defense forced a turnover, fellow rookie Dothan Bardichev successfully executed a layup of his own that gave the Macs the lead for good, 56-54, with 1:45 remaining.

Yeshiva kept a two-point advantage (59-57) with just 21 seconds to go and junior Oren Betesh was intentionally fouled and went to the free throw line. He nailed two clutch shots from the charity stripe to put his team up by two possessions and helped YU secure the victory.

Samet finished the game with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Freshman Roy Itcovichi had a big game with 15 points, four boards, three assists, and a pair of steals. Betesh produced 11 points, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while forcing three steals, snatching two rebounds, and delivering an assist. Bardichev netted 11 points, clutched three boards, picked up just as many steals, and dished out a pair of assists.

Early in the contest, Amherst went up 19-16, but Yeshiva stormed back with 11 unanswered points, capped off by a triple from Samet, to give YU its largest lead of the afternoon, 27-19, with 5:01 to go in the half. The Mammoths responded with nine straight points, concluding with a 3-point basket courtesy of sophomore C.J. Mitchell, to allow the road team to regain the advantage, 28-27, with 2:42 left in the half.

After both teams exchanged buckets, senior Matan Zucker hit a free throw to allow YU to tie the game at 30 points apiece with 35 seconds remaining. On Amherst's next possession, Itcovichi gathered a steal to give the Macs possession. In the closing seconds, Samet dribbled around the arc and then launched a shot from deep that swished into the basket, just as the buzzer went off, to give the Maccabees a 33-30 benefit at the intermission.

In the second period, Bardichev buried a jump shot from downtown to give the Blue and White a 48-42 advantage with 12:25 to go. The Mammoths continued the game of runs with a 7-0 blitz to take a one-point edge with 8:29 left to play in regulation. Yeshiva would not falter as Zucker kicked it out to Betesh who buried a triple to put the Macs back in front, 51-49, with 7:08 to go. Amherst's defense put up the pressure by holding Yeshiva scoreless for the next 4:58 of the contest, During that stretch, a traditional 3-point play by freshman Giovanni Tam and then a layup from sophomore Bobby Sommers put Amherst up, 54-51.

With just 2:10 left to play, and Yeshiva in a three-point hole, Samet ended YU's drought by converting a layup and drawing a foul at the same time. He nailed the free throw to tie the game at 54 points apiece. After YU's defense forced a turnover, Itcovichi found Bardichev in the paint, who connected on a layup attempt to give the Maccabees the lead for good, at 56-54, with 1:45 left to play.

With Amherst having the ball with under a minute to play, and Yeshiva still nursing a two-point lead, Zucker wrestled the ball out of the opposition's hands and tipped it to Itcovichi who then converted a layup, while being fouled, much to the delight of the raucous Max Stern Athletic Center crowd. Itcovichi added the free throw to inflate Yeshiva's lead to 59-54, with 47 ticks left on the clock.

Amherst got close again, as a 3-point field goal courtesy of sophomore Canin Reynolds sliced YU's advantage to just two, at 59-57, with 28 seconds left. On the next possession, Betesh was fouled intentionally and went to the line to drill two key shots from the charity stripe which put YU up by two possessions and essentially sealed the win. The final score was 61-57 in favor of Yeshiva.

For the Maccabees, Zucker generated two points, three assists, two rebounds, a block, and a steal. Junior Adi Markovich tallied two points, just as many boards, an assist, and a steal. Rookie Daniel Margusov snatched a rebound.

For the Mammoths, Mitchell scored 15 points, while freshman Charlie Randall had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Yeshiva will return to Skyline action on Tuesday with a game at Manhattanville College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.