The Yeshiva University men’s basketball team opened the home portion of its schedule in style, by knocking off previously unbeaten New York University by a score of 83-68, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. The Maccabees advanced their record to 2-3, while the Violets fell to 3-1.
Yeshiva had a balanced attack, as four of the five starters scored in double-figures. Sophomore guard Judah Cohen led all players with 17 points, going 6-8 from the field, including five three-pointers. The sophomore guard also grabbed five boards and forced three steals. Senior forward Michael Berg just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard Simcha Halpert scored just as many points with two steals. Senior forward Dean Pienica added 12 points with four rebounds.
“Great win for our program,” Yeshiva head coach Elliot Steinmetz said. “I thought our patience offensively today was the key. That coupled with our toughness on the boards against a big team allowed us to really control the tempo.”
Yeshiva out-rebounded NYU, 34-30.
In the game, the Maccabees led from wire-to-wire, as Pienica’s layup nine seconds in put the home team up for good. Senior guard Jordan Hod and Halpert combined for back-to-back three-point field goals to give YU a commanding 10-2 lead, just 2:20 into the contest.
Later in the half, NYU pulled to within five, but a layup from Pienica gave Yeshiva a 17-10 advantage with 12:48 left. Freshman forward Bar Alluf fed the ball to Halpert, who laid it up and in, while drawing a foul. He hit the free throw to complete the three-point play, extending Yeshiva’s lead to 22-12, with 11:17 left.
After the Violets pulled to within eight, the Maccabees surged to a 7-0 run, capped off by Berg’s layup to give the home team a 33-18 advantage. With less than a minute remaining in the half, Hod capitalized on a three-point field goal to make it 43-28 in favor of the Blue and White. Both teams entered the locker room with Yeshiva up 43-29.
In the second half, the Violets rallied to pull within 11, at 50-39, with 15:23 remaining in regulation time. Yeshiva would not allow NYU to get any closer as three-point field goals by Cohen and senior forward Eli Mamann sparked a 10-2 run to extend the home team’s lead to 60-41, with 12:42 left. That forced the Violets to play catch-up for the remainder of the contest, as the Maccabees did not allow the visiting team to sustain any big runs down the stretch. With four seconds left to play, Halpert stole the ball and laid it up and in off a fast break, to make it 83-68. That would be the final score as Yeshiva is now 1-0 at the Max Stern Athletic Center.
For the contest, Berg and Hod led all players with six assists, with the latter adding eight points. Sophomore forward Tal Gweta produced nine points off the bench, while Alluf added six. Mamann scored three points, while sophomore forward Michael Hayon produced two points and three assists.
(yumacs.com)
