(yumacs.com) The nationally ranked No. 1 Yeshiva University men’s basketball team was able to hold off a late comeback attempt by New Jersey City University, hanging on to win by a score of 93-86 at a raucous John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on Wednesday evening. The Maccabees’ winning streak reached the milestone of 50 games and the team remains undefeated this year at 14-0.
Yeshiva led by as many as 23 in the second half, but New Jersey City University rallied to pull to within four, at 88-84, with 1:29 left in regulation time. YU was able to hit key free throws down the stretch, and make big plays on defense, to preserve the victory.
Leading the way for Yeshiva was senior Ryan Turellwho led all scorers with 41 points, shooting 17-for-25 from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists. Junior Ofek Reef made a big impact by netting 20 points, bringing down six boards, distributing three assists and forcing a pair of steals. Graduate student Gabriel Leifer generated nine points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Both teams got off to a slow start shooting the ball, as each unit was held scoreless to start the game until sophomore Ryan Savoy converted a layup to give the Gothic Knights the lead 1:34 into the contest. After falling behind, 4-2, Yeshiva found its shooting rhythm and went on a 12-1 run to take the lead for good, 14-5, with 14:11 remaining in the half. Reef began the surge with a layup, while graduate student Jordan Armstrong capped it off with a layup of his own.
After falling behind by 15, New Jersey City University chipped away and sliced YU’s benefit to 31-23, with 6:12 to go. However, YU answered the opposition’s surge by finishing the first half on a 18-5 rally to take a commanding 49-28 hold into the intermission. A highlight play during YU’s blitz was a successful traditional three-point play by Turell.
Yeshiva increased its lead throughout the early stages of the second half, as Turell buried a jump shot to put YU up, 70-48, with 12:45 to play in regulation time. With 12:08 to go, Reef drained a free throw to give the Maccabees their largest lead of the evening at 71-48.
New Jersey City University chipped away and pulled to within 13, at 75-62, but Turell continued his clutch play by burying a layup while being fouled. He added the free throw to complete the three-point play and extend Yeshiva’s lead to 78-62 with 7:49 left in regulation.
The Gothic Knights would not go down without a fight as they rallied again, this time with a 15-6 run, to slice YU’s lead to 84-77 with 3:37 remaining. After a free throw from Reef put YU up by eight, junior Derryen Whyte came up big for New Jersey City by converting a layup, while drawing a foul, much to the delight of the roaring NJCU fanbase. He added the free throw to shrink YU’s lead to five, at 85-80, with 3:22 to go. Once again, the Maccabees came up clutch when needed as Reef countered with an and one layup to get the Maccabees’ fan base up and cheering. He drained the shot from the charity stripe to put YU back up by eight with 3:06 to go.
NJCU countered with four straight points to shrink its deficit to 88-84, with 1:29 remaining. However, Yeshiva was able to hit key free throws and get key stops during the final minute of the game. Sophomore Adi Markovich drained two free throws to inflate the Macs’ lead to 91-84 and that would put the game out of reach for the Gothic Knights. No. 1 Yeshiva was able to hang on for the tight victory, 93-86.
For the Maccabees, junior Matan Zucker had eight points and five rebounds. Senior Eitan Halpert had six points, brought down five boards, delivered three assists, and blocked two shots. Armstrong clutched seven rebounds and had two blocks. Making his return to the court, graduate student Ethan Lasko scored five points. Markovich had two assists.
