NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team earned a key come-from-behind Skyline victory over Mount Saint Mary College, 90-78, at Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening. The Maccabees advance to 6-4 overall, and 4-1 in Skyline play, while the Knights drop their conference opener and fall to 2-6 overall.

The Knights led by as many as seven during the first half, but YU managed to cut it to two after 20 minutes of play. With the game tied at 64 points apiece with 8:20 to go in regulation time, Yeshiva took over the game with a 13-3 run to take a 77-67 hold with 5:41 left to play and never looked back. Up until that point, it was a back-and-forth contest with 11 ties and 14 lead changes.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was junior guard Oren Betesh who had 25 points off the bench, shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from 3-point range. The Jamaica, N.Y. native hit all three of his free throw attempts, grabbed six rebounds, and distributed three assists.

"Got great output as usual from Oren and we managed to find a few stops at the end of the game," Yeshiva University Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "Major credit to Mount Saint Mary for taking us out of our strengths for most of the game."

Yeshiva rookie forward Roy Itcovichi had a strong game by earning a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while dishing out a pair of assists. Sophomore guard Zevi Samet netted 15 points, distributed four assists, and brought down two rebounds. Senior forward Matan Zucker had yet another productive game with 15 points, seven boards, four assists, and a steal.

Macs' rookie forward Dothan Bardichev had a solid performance with 10 points, six assists, four rebounds, a pair of steals, and blocked a shot.

Things looked bleak for Yeshiva during the middle stages of the first half, as a dunk by sophomore forward Jayden Figueroa gave Mount Saint Mary a 30-23 lead with 8:10 to go before the break. The Maccabees responded with five straight points, highlighted by layups from Samet and Itcovichi, to pull the home team to within two.

Later in the stanza, with YU down 37-35, Betesh received the pass from rookie guard Jacob Rodin and launched a triple to put the Macs in front, 38-37, with 2:03 left to play in the half. The Knights scored the next four points to go up by three, but Zucker closed out the half with a free throw to send the two teams into the locker rooms with Mount Saint Mary up. 41-39.

In the middle of the second half, with YU down 59-58, Zucker converted layup, while getting bumped, to put YU ahead. He then added the free throw to give the Macs a 61-59 advantage with 9:24 left to play. The Knights countered as Figueroa buried a triple to put the his team back in front, 62-61. On Yeshiva's next possession, Samet found Betesh who drained a key shot from downtown to give the Macs the advantage again, at 64-62, with 8:49 remaining.

After Mount Saint Mary tied it, Yeshiva took over the contest by going on a 13-3 run, in a span of 2:23, to take a commanding 77-67 lead with 5:41 to go in regulation time. Itcovichi began YU's game-altering blitz with a successful jump shot and then concluded it with a layup.

Mount Saint Mary could not get back into the game from that point on. Yeshiva's defense shut down the visiting team during the closing minutes of the game, as the Knights only scored one field goal during the final 2:51 of the contest.

The Maccabees went on to win the key Skyline matchup, 90-78.

For Yeshiva, senior guard Gabriel Landau scored three points, had a rebound, and delivered an assist. Junior guard Adi Markovich brought down three caroms. Rookie forward Daniel Margusov snatched three boards and had an assist, while freshman forward Michael Natkin delivered a helper.

For Mount Saint Mary, Figueroa led all players with 26 points, while grabbing six rebounds, distributing five assists, collecting four steals, and blocking one shot.

Yeshiva will take on College of Mount Saint Vincent, in a Skyline contest at Peter Jay Sharp Center, on Monday evening. The game will begin at approximately 8:00 p.m.