KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought Skyline Conference loss to the United States Merchant Marine Academy by a score of 85-79, at Liebertz Gymnasium, on Sunday afternoon.

Impact on the Skyline Standings: Yeshiva drops to 7-3 in league play (10-9 overall) and fall a full game behind Merchant Marine (9-9, 8-2 Skyline) and Farmingdale State College (13-6, 8-2 Skyline) for a first-place tie in the league standings. Yeshiva is currently knotted with Manhattanville College (14-5, 7-3 Skyline) for third place overall in the conference.

YU's Rally Falls Short: The Maccabees trailed by 13 late in the first half but rallied to cut it to two with 1:32 remaining in regulation time. However, the Mariners scored the final four points of the game to earn their first win over the Macs since December 12, 2016, in Kings Point, N.Y.

Leading the Way for the Maccabees: Sophomore guard Zevi Samet had a strong game with 32 points and shot 57.1% (8-for-14) from 3-point range. Classmate Max Zakheim produced 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and forced a pair of steals. Senior forward Matan Zucker had a solid performance by leading all players with 13 rebounds and seven assists, while scoring eight points.

Junior guard Oren Betesh drained three triples out of six attempts, off the bench, while clutching two boards and picking up two steals. Rookie forwards Dothan Bardichev and Roy Itcovichi each netted six points with the latter grabbing two rebounds, delivering a pair of assists, and forcing just as many steals.

The Key Stats: Merchant Marine shot 56.5% (35-for-62) from the floor compared to Yeshiva's 42.0% (29-for-69) shooting from the field. The Mariners outrebounded the Maccabees, 31-22.

How It Happened: After Yeshiva grabbed a brief 2-0 lead, Merchant Marine scored the next six points to jump out in front for good. The Maccabees did manage to pull to within one a couple of times in the opening half, but the Mariners eventually built their lead back up. With 42 seconds left in the first stanza, sophomore guard Isaac Vencel drained a shot from deep to give Merchant Marine its largest lead of the contest, at 43-30. Yeshiva did get closer before the break, thanks to a 3-point field goal by Bardichev that shrunk YU's disadvantage to 43-33 with 21 seconds left. That would be the score after 20 minutes of play.

With Yeshiva down by nine in the middle stages of the second half, Samet drained back-to-backs triples to pull YU to within three, at 65-62, with 9:23 left to play.

Over the next several minutes, Merchant Marine inflated its lead to seven, at 79-72, with only 3:10 to go. The Maccabees responded with a 7-2 run, capped off by a layup from Zakheim, to narrow YU's deficit to 81-79, with 1:32 to go. But just like the entire game, Merchant Marine cut off Yeshiva's rally with a run of its own. This time, it was four straight points to close out the game. The Maccabees were held scoreless for the remaining 1:32 of the contest and the Mariners went on to earn the key Skyline victory.

For USMMA: Junior guard Bryce Bristow scored 22 points, brought down seven rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked a pair of shots. Sophomore guard Drew Zalescik generated 18 points and six rebounds, while Vencel produced 14 points, five assists, a couple of rebounds, and two steals.

Up Next: Yeshiva will host Sarah Lawrence College, in a Skyline matchup at Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.