NEW YORK, N.Y.— Coming off a six week layoff, the Yeshiva University men's basketball team returned to action and lost in heartbreaking fashion in overtime as a three point shot at the buzzer by the opponent beat the Maccabees on Thursday night as the College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV) came away with a 69-68 win over Yeshiva at the Max Stern Athletic Center.
 
The loss snaps a Yeshiva six-game winning streak and leaves the Maccabees at 9-4 overall and 6-2 in Skyline Conference play. CMSV is now 10-5 overall and 6-2 in Skyline Conference play.
 
With the score tied at 66, and the shot clock off, Yeshiva took the lead with 5.5 seconds remaining when Shaje Weiss connected on a pair of free throws to make the score 68-66. Then on the ensuing CMSV possession, the Dolphins' Antonio Johnson raced up the court, passed out of a double team and found Ammad Alkhulaidi who netted home a three point field goal as the buzzer sounded to give CMSV the win.
 
The game winner by CMSV was the eighth lead change of the game, seven of which came in the final 8:05 of the game. The Dolphins took an initial 4-1 lead in the opening minute, before the Maccabees used a 6-0 spurt to take a 7-4 lead. Yeshiva led the rest of the first half and never the rest of the first half and the first seventeen plus minutes of the second half.
 
Yeshiva led by as much as 20 in the first stanza and the Maccabees were up 31-11 with 3:15 to play in the first half.
 
CMSV though closed out the half on a 12-1 run to get its deficit to within single digits before halftime as the Maccabees led 32-23 at the break.
 
Yeshiva led by as much as 10 early in the second half, but CMSV stuck around and stayed within striking range. With seven minutes to go the Dolphins tied the game for the first time and the score was 45-45. But Yeshiva did not relinquish the lead and went back up by three after a free throw by Benjy Ritholtz with 6:27 left, followed by a Michael Berg jumper with 5:16 to play.
 
With 3:54 to go, CMSV tied the score again. Then the Dolphins, with 3:05 to play in regulation, took a 51-49 lead after a pair of free throws by Alkhulaidi.
 
The final 3:05 of regulation saw two more lead change and three ties before going into overtime.
 
In the extra session, CMSV was up 64-61 with 2:28 to play before the Maccabees rallied off a 5-0 run to lead to lead 66-64 with twenty-one seconds to go. Weiss was clutch in overtime, connecting on five free throws, including the two with twenty-one seconds left.
 
CMSV tied the game with eleven seconds left on a lay-up by Alkhulaidi, before Weiss's two free throws with 5.5 seconds left put the Maccabees up again. Alkhulaidi's three pointer at the buzzer then won it.
 
Yeshiva was led by Ritholtz with 18 points. He netted his 1,000th career point in the contest by sinking a free throw with 4:32 to play in the second half, becoming just the twenty-seventh player in Yeshiva men's basketball history to eclipse the mark.
 
Shelby Rosenberg had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Berg added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Weiss had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
CMSV was led by Alkhulaidi with 22 points, while Matthew Sowah added 13 points off the bench.
 
Yeshiva is back in action on Saturday evening for a game at Maritime College at 8:30 p.m.