(New York, NY) – After being cut from the Yeshiva University Men's Basketball team as a sophomore a year ago, Yeshiva Men's Basketball junior Aryeh Magilnick (Los Angeles, CA/YULA) became renowned as one of the most popular figures within the YU Athletics Department. A manager to the Men's Basketball program and assistant to the department, Magilnick's popularity revolved around his desire to perform whatever tasks were asked of him, and being dependable to complete his duties in a timely and successful manner. On Saturday night, Magilnick - now a member of the YU Men's Basketball team - lent a helping hand to the program that will not soon be forgotten. An outside shooting specialist, Magilnick's dramatic three-pointer with 0:03 seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 59 and sent Yeshiva's Skyline Conference battle with Maritime College into overtime. The Maccabees ultimately won the battle, 74-71, improving their overall record to 5-5, and bringing their post-season hopes to life.
It was as close as a must-win game as a team can have only 10 games into a season as Yeshiva not only had to overcome a four-game losing streak, but also a Maritime College program that had beaten Skyline Conference pre-season #1 program Farmingdale State only days earlier. During the first half, it appeared as if Yeshiva's losing streak would extend to five as Maritime (4-2, 2-1 Skyline Conference) quickly took a seven-point lead, and then an 11-0 Privateer run gave Maritime a 33-17 lead with 4:52 remaining in the opening stanza. However, as quickly as Maritime took control of the game, they lost control as Yeshiva scored the final six points of the first half, and when junior Martin Leibovich (Buenos Aires, Argentina, ORT II) hit a lay-up with 1:24 to play in the opening half, the Maccabees trailed 33-23, a deficit they would bring into halftime.
Maritime took the lead by shooting 52% during the opening 20 minutes, compared to Yeshiva's 40%, and outrebounding the Maccabees 21-11. However, both figures would prove to change in a hurry.
After Maritime scored quickly to open the second half to make it 35-23, Yeshiva scored nine consecutive points to make it a 35-32 game. The remainder of regulation would see Yeshiva valiantly fight back to tie the score and Maritime desperately work to hang on to the lead. Maritime extended the lead to 46-36 with 10:46 remaining in regulation, but the Maccabees rallied to score nine consecutive points, and a Leibovich three-pointer with 7:42 remaining in regulation made it a 46-45 Maritime lead. Maritime responded to extend the lead to 51-45 with 5:34 remaining, but five straight Leibovich points made it a one-point game once again as the Maccabees trailed 51-50 with 3:39 to play in regulation.
With a near-capacity crowd on its feet trying to will Yeshiva to complete the comeback, a huge defense rebound by freshman Chen Biron (Kfar Saba, Israel/Katzanelson) led to a Maritime foul, and Biron promptly converted both free throw attempts with 3:15 remaining in the game to give YU its first lead of the game, 52-51. But the drama had only begun to unfold as Maritime quickly went back on the offensive, taking a 58-54 lead with 36 seconds remaining. A Leibovich lay-up with 29 seconds to play made it 58-56. Five second later, Maritime converted one out of two free throw attempts to make it a three-point game, and setting up Magilnick's heroics.
After the Privateer free throw, Maritime set up a full-court press to try to slow YU down. After breaking the press, Leibovich passed the ball to junior Alex Claster (Kansas City, Kansas/Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy), who faked a three-point shot, and then handed the ball to Magilnick, who shot a three-pointer from five feet outside the three-point line, and the shot went straight through the hoop to tie the score and send the crowd into a frenzy. The shot also sent the game into overtime.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ARYEH MAGILNICK'S GAME-TYING THREE-POINTER WITH 0:03 REMAINING.
During the extra session, a combination of Maritime turnovers and terrific free-throw shooting by YU led the Maccabees to victory. Maritime led 66-63 with 2:21 remaining when a Claster jumper made it a one-point game. Two consecutive Maritime turnovers and a foul brought senior Benjamin Lockspeiser (Highland Park, NJ/MAYHS) to the free throw line, and he converted both to give the Maccabees a 67-66 lead with 1:12 to play. Another Maritime turnover and foul brought sophomore Simon Brookim (Brentwood, CA/Valley Torah) to the free throw line, and he promptly converted both shots to make it a three-point game. Maritime tried to tie the score with one three-point shot with 34 seconds to play, and the Maccabees grabbed the defensive rebound, forcing Maritime to foul in a desperate effort to complete a dramatic comeback of their own. That comeback would not happen as junior David Gilboa (Tenafly, NJ/Frisch) converted one out of two free throws, and three consecutive turnovers by Maritime saw Claster, Brookim, and Lockspeiser combine to make four out of six free throws to give YU a 73-66 lead with 10 seconds remaining, and put the game out of reach.
Yeshiva hit 11 out of 15 free throw attempts during the overtime session, and went 20 for 28 from the free-throw line during the game, while Maritime converted nine of their 22 free throws. In addition, Maritime held only a 41-35 rebounding edge for the game, and the Privateers finished the game with 23 turnovers, while Yeshiva only had 16.
Leibovich finished with 26 points on 11 for 19 shooting and added 13 rebounds for his second career double-double. Claster finished the game with 13 points, while Lockspeiser chipped in 10 points.
Now 3-3 in Skyline Conference play, Yeshiva is very much in the playoff hunt. Their next conference challenge comes on Wednesday, December 17 when the Maccabees host Mount Saint Vincent for an 8:00 p.m. game at the Max Stern Athletics Center.
