FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team extended its conference winning streak to five games on Thursday evening, by earning a convincing league victory over SUNY Old Westbury by a score of 94-68, at Nold Hall Athletic Complex. The Maccabees advance to 8-4 overall and 6-1 in conference contests. The Panthers drop to 0-6 for the season and 0-1 in league play.

With the victory, Elliot Steinmetz now has 150 career wins as head coach of Yeshiva University. 

YU led from wire-to-wire, thanks in large part to 54.4% (37-for-68) shooting from the field. The Macs' defense held the Panthers to just 13.3% (2-for-15) shooting from beyond the arc. The Maccabees had the advantage on the glass, 43-35.

Yeshiva's rookie phenom Zevi Samet had an outstanding game, scoring a game-high 34 points on 50.0% shooting from both the field overall (13-for-26) and from 3-point range (8-for-16). The Monsey native also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists, and forced a pair of steals.

Freshman forward Roy Itcovichi had a productive game for the Macs with 18 points, on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor, and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Max Zakheim once again reached double figures in scoring with 14 points, while snatching three boards and forcing just as many steals. Senior forward Matan Zucker had a solid evening with eight points, just as many rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Senior guard Oren Betesh helped propel YU to the victory by netting eight points off the bench with seven assists and four boards.

The key stretch of the game for Yeshiva was a 22-6 run in the middle stages of the first half, capped off by a triple from Betesh, that jolted the Maccabees to a 30-13 hold with 10:45 to go in the opening period. Yeshiva never looked back from that point on.

Yeshiva also had a big blitz to finish the game, outscoring SUNY Old Westbury 21-8 in the final 7:11 of the contest to secure its fifth conference win in a row.

For the Maccabees during the evening, rookie forward Dothan Bardichev netted six points, brought down four rebounds, dished out three assists, had just as many blocks, and forced a steal. Junior Adi Markovich and rookie guard Ari Shklyar each buried a triple, with the former having three rebounds, one assist, and a steal. Senior guard Gabriel Landau secured three boards of his own, while freshman forward Michael Natkin delivered an assist and blocked a shot.

For the Panthers, sophomore forward Max Weinberg had 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Yeshiva will return to the friendly confines of Max Stern Athletic Center on Saturday night for a Skyline Conference matchup against St. Joseph's University Long Island. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.