NEW YORK – The nationally ranked No. 1 Yeshiva University men's basketball team's historic winning streak came to an end, on Thursday evening, as the Maccabees were defeated by the fourth-ranked Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University by a score of 73-59 at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Yeshiva's 50-game unbeaten stretch was the second longest in Division III men's basketball history. SUNY Potsdam won 60 straight games from 1985 until 1987.

Leading the way for the Maccabees (14-1) was senior Ryan Turell, who netted a game-best 22 points. He now moves ahead of Ayal Hod ('89) for third place on YU's All-Time Scoring List with 1,811 career points. Hod scored 1,807 points in his collegiate career. Turell officially surpassed the Macs' legend by converting a layup off a feed from senior Eitan Halpert with 5:02 remaining in regulation time to give him both the 1,807^th and 1,808^th points of his illustrious career at Yeshiva. For the game, Turell also had five rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocked shots.

The Titans (9-2) led the battle of top five nationally ranked teams from wire-to-wire, thanks in large part to senior Matthew Leritz who had a double-double with 14 points and a game-best 25 rebounds. He also had five assists and three steals.

For the evening, the Maccabees were held to just 40.7% shooting from the field and 25.0% from beyond the arc. The Titans were red-hot shooting the ball in the opening half, converting 64.2% of their shots from both the field in general and from 3-point range. The visiting team ended up converting 51.9% of its field goal attempts during the contest.

Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as 25 points during the second half. From that point on, Yeshiva outscored the opposition, 25-14, in the final 15:15 of the contest. Turell began Yeshiva's surge with a 3-point field goal. Later in the run, the Los Angeles native buried another shot from deep to pull the Maccabees to within 16, at 72-56, with 4:12 to go, much to the delight of the cheering Maccabees' fans in attendance.

After Illinois Wesleyan extended its lead to 17, Halpert got the Macs closer by converting a layup, while being fouled. He added the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and shrink YU's deficit to 73-59 with 3:28 left to play.

However, both teams were held scoreless the rest of the way and the Titans went on to earn the key road win and snap YU's historic winning streak. As the final seconds ticked away, a loud and vocal "Let's Go Macs!" chant was heard throughout the gym, as the Yeshiva fans showed their appreciation to the Maccabees for all they have accomplished during their historic run.

For the game, graduate student Gabriel Leifer had a monster game defensively for Yeshiva, forcing five steals and blocking four shots, while adding six points and three assists on the offensive end. Halpert had a productive game with 16 points, four rebounds, just as many assists, and four steals. Graduate student Ethan Lasko had 10 points and three assists, while junior Matan Zucker brought down four boards. Classmate Ofek Reef generated five points and two rebounds. Sophomore Adi Markovich dished out three assists.

The Titans had five players reach double-figures in scoring, including 15 points from junior Luke Yoder.

No. 1 Yeshiva's game against No. 17 Williams College, scheduled for Sunday evening, has been postponed. Please check out YUmacs.com, as well as our social media channels, for future updates regarding the 2021-22 Yeshiva University men's basketball schedule.