Box Score PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - The Yeshiva University men's basketball team won its second-straight Skyline Conference contest Sunday afternoon, and third in its last-four outings by capturing a 78-68 decision on the road at St. Joseph's College of Long Island.
The visiting Maccabees (3-5, 3-2 Skyline) outrebounded its fifth straight opponent and, more impressively, shot over 60 percent from the field for the second-consecutive time; YU buried 28 of its 45 field-goal attempts (.622), and 9-of-15 3-pointers (.600), less than 72 hours after shooting .643 from the field in a home triumph over Maritime (N.Y.). Prior to this two-game stretch, the last time head coach Dr. Jonathan Halpert's Yeshiva squad shot 60 percent-plus from the field came during the 2009-10 season, when it accomplished the feat four times - including twice in a three-game stretch late in the campaign (Feb. 14, at St. Joseph's-L.I. - .617; Feb. 18, at Mount Saint Mary - .600).
Junior guard
Benjy Ritholtz (W. Hempstead, N.Y.) entered the game against the Golden Eagles (1-6, 0-3 Skyline) amongst the conference's leaders in 3-point field goal percentage, and he only improved his ranking with a scorching 7-for-8 display from beyond the arc (9-for-11 FG overall) en route to 26 points. Senior
Gil Bash (Tel Aviv, Israel) shot 7-for-9 from the floor en route to a 17-point, five assist afternoon, while junior
Yoni Eckmann (Wynnewood, Pa.) had a perfect shooting day (5-for-5 FG; 1-for-1 FT) en route to 11 points off the Macs' bench. Junior
Shlomo Weissberg (Skokie, Ill.) and senior captain
Dovie Hoffman (Tarzana, Calif.) led YU's effort on the glass, pulling down nine and eight caroms, respectively.
Yeshiva took the lead for good less than eight minutes into the contest on an Eckmann jumper, before his conventional 3-point play capped an 8-1 run later in the half to give the Maccabees a 31-21 edge with 5:13 left in the half.
In the second half, YU pulled away with a 14-1 run to take its largest lead of the contest (56-38) when Weissberg laid home a pass from Bash. St. Joseph's got to within nine points with 37 seconds remaining, and again with 15 ticks on the clock, but a 5-for-6 display at the free-throw line in the last 30 seconds allowed the visitors to hold on for the win.
Yeshiva is back in Skyline Conference action Tuesday night (Dec. 11), when it plays host to College of Mount Saint Vincent at Max Stern Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
