NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team had a strong second half to pull off a come-from-behind Skyline Conference victory over Sarah Lawrence College, 77-70, at Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.
A Tale of Two Halves: The Maccabees (11-9, 8-3 Skyline) only shot 32.3% (11-for-34) from the floor and 15.5% (2-for-16) from deep in the first half. As a result, Yeshiva trailed by four after 20 minutes of play. Yeshiva's shooting improved dramatically in the second half, shooting 54.8% (17-for-31) from the field and 53.8% (7-for-13) from beyond the arc during the final 20 minutes of the contest. The Maccabees opened the final period of regulation with a 13-0 run to take the lead for good on their way to the comeback league victory.
Yeshiva's Leaders: Sophomore guard Zevi Samet led all players with 27 points, on 10-for-21 shooting from the field, while grabbing six rebounds, dishing out two assists, and forcing a pair of steals. Senior forward Matan Zucker tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Max Zakheim also scored 14 points, while collecting three steals and bringing down two boards.
How it Happened: Yeshiva struggled shooting the ball in the first half, but a layup by Samet gave the Maccabees a 20-15 advantage with 6:48 left in the opening stanza. After The Gryphons (5-14, 3-8 Skyline) pulled to within two a couple of times, newcomer Effy Freundlich converted a layup to give Yeshiva more breathing room, at 24-20, with 3:27 left before the break. However, Sarah Lawrence finished the opening stanza with eight unanswered points, capped off by a triple from freshman center Chris Doughtry with 32 ticks left on the clock, to give the visiting team a 28-24 benefit heading into the intermission.
The Maccabees came storming out of the gate in the second half, scoring 13 straight points in a span of 3:26, to take the lead for good. After rookie forward Dothan Bardichev hit a free throw to begin the game-altering blitz, Samet connected on a triple that tied the game at 28 points apiece. On Yeshiva's next defensive possession, Zakheim forced a steal and Samet took advantage by converting a fast-break layup to put YU in front for good, 30-28, with 18:57 remaining in regulation time.
Later, with Yeshiva up by four, Zucker continued YU's momentum by successfully executing a layup, while being bumped. He buried a free throw to complete the conventional three-point play to inflate YU's cushion to 35-28. After Yeshiva forced yet another stop, Zucker capped off YU's big run by grabbing an offensive rebound and burying the putback layup to put the Macs up, 37-28, with 16:18 remaining in regulation time.
The Maccabees' defense held the Gryphons scoreless for the first 4:38 of the second stanza.
Sarah Lawrence was not done yet as the visiting team chipped away and narrowed Yeshiva's vantage to 40-38 with 12:29 to go. YU answered right back as a jumper by freshman forward Roy Itcovichi began a stretch of seven straight points by the Blue and White, capped off by a triple from Zakheim, to give the home team a more comfortable lead at 47-38 with 10:22 remaining.
Throughout the remainder of the game, Sarah Lawrence would get to within striking distance but then Yeshiva would answer with a run to pull away again. The latest example occurred with just 1:04 remaining in the contest. A pair of free throws from Zakheim equaled Yeshiva's largest lead of the game, at 71-61. Sarah Lawrence continued to hang around as rookie guard Eamon Kelly drained a triple, while being fouled. He buried the free throw to complete the four-point play and shrink the Macs' lead to 71-65 with 53 seconds left.
A second later, Samet was intentionally fouled and earned a spot at the charity stripe where he buried two key free throws to extend Yeshiva's lead to eight. The Maccabees continued to hit clutch free throws during the final minute of play on their way to securing their eighth conference victory of the season.
Also Sparking the Maccabees: Freundlich netted eight points and brought down three rebounds. Junior guard Oren Betesh knocked down two 3-point shots, forced a pair of steals, distributed two assists, and clutched just as many boards. Bardichev had four points, four rebounds, one assist, and a blocked shot. Itcovichi produced four points, four rebounds, and just as many assists.
For the Gryphons: Three players reached double figures in scoring for Sarah Lawrence, including 16 points and four rebounds by freshman guard Braden Burman. Kelly generated 15 points, six rebounds, and just as many assists. Senior guard Reuben Egan scored 10 points off the bench.
The Skyline Standings: Yeshiva moves into sole possession of third place in the overall standings, just half of a game behind the United States Merchant Marine for second place, and a full game behind first-place Farmingdale State College.
Up Next: Yeshiva will return to Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday evening for a league matchup against SUNY Old Westbury. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.