(New York, NY) – Junior Martin Leibovich netted his second consecutive double-double, scoring 21 points and adding 11 rebounds, and junior Alex Claster (Kansas City, Kansas/Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy) scored 22 points as the Yeshiva University Men's Basketball team rallied past Polytechnic, 68-64 on Sunday night at the Max Stern Athletics Center. With their third straight win, YU is now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Skyline Conference play. The 3-1 start is Yeshiva's best start to a season in more than six years.

Yeshiva dominated much of the first half, leading by as many as eight points midway through the half, and the Maccabees even held a 29-23 lead after a Claster three-pointer with 2:33 to play in the opening half. However, Polytechnic (0-4, 0-1 Skyline Conference) rallied late, scoring five straight points to make it 29-28with 1:06 remaining, and then the Fighting Blue Jays hit four straight free throws in the final 10 seconds of the first half to tie the score at 32 at halftime. Yeshiva shot an outstanding 50% during the first half of play.

The second half saw Polytechnic continue its surge as the Fighting Blue Jays led by as many as seven points on two occasions, including a 47-40 lead with 12:11 to play in the game, but Yeshiva was not finished. A 12-4 YU run culminated with a three-pointer by Leibovch with 5:34 to play that put the Maccabees ahead 52-51. Yeshiva led 58-56 with 2:55 to play and put the game away with a 6-0 run that made it 64-56 with 38 seconds left in the game.

Claster and Leibovich were outstanding, accounting for 63% of Yeshiva's offense, and senior Benjamin Lockspeiser (Highland Park, NJ/MAYHS) also enjoyed a fine evening as he amassed seven assists.

Overall, Yeshiva outshot Polytechnic 44%-41% and outrebounded Polytechnic 36-33.

The Maccabees will look to make it four straight wins when they host Bard College on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 8:00 p.m. at the Max Stern Athletics Center.