NEW YORK, NY - Taking on a squad that played in the Elite Eight of last year's NCAA Tournament, the Yeshiva men's basketball team fell to Nichols College, losing to the Bison by a score of 97-92 on Sunday, Nov. 19.
 
Offensively, the Maccabees saw massive games out of Max Zakheim, Zevi Samet and Or Sundjysvky, with all three players scoring over twenty points at 26, 25 and 20 respectively.
 
On the defensive end, Yeshiva were held down by Roy Itcovichi, with the sophomore swiping a team leading mark of six rebounds while also notching two steals.
 
With this most recent result, the Macs sport a 3-3 record on the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• While Yeshiva jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to buckets from Zakheim and Samet, Nichols were never far behind, keeping pace with the Mac attack. Despite these efforts by the Bison however, the Maccabees remained in full control of the contest through the first six minutes, relying on the scoring of Sundjyvsky, Samet, Zakheim, and Itcovichi to secure them as much as an 11 point lead at 23-13.
   
• It was then however that the Bison began to strike back, whittling away at Yeshiva's margin over the next seven minutes until it was down to just two at 31-29. A dagger of a triple thirty seconds later officially snatched the lead away from the Macs, an advantage that they would never recover. Fighting back, yet not able to catch the ferocious Nichol offense, Yeshiva went into the break trailing 50-45.
   
• While Yeshiva were down they were certainly not out, cutting their deficit to just two with a quick Samet triple to kick off the second half. However, no matter how many times the Macs would get within range of the Nichol lead, they could not completely recapture their previously held advantage, seeing a burst of Bison offense once again widen the gap between the two squads.
   
• This pattern would repeat itself throughout the rest of the period, with the Macs' final chance coming with just thirty seconds left when a huge Sundjyvsky three cut their margin to six at 93-87. However, this final push would prove too late, as a missed Samet shot from beyond the arc sealed Yeshiva's fate. The Macs wrapped up a disappointing weekend with a 97-92 loss.

 
MAC LEADERS

• Points: Zakheim (26), Samet (25), Sundjyvsky (20)
• Assists: Samet (5), Bardichev (5), Itcovichi (4)
• Rebounds: Bardichev (6), Itcovichi (6), Zakheim (5)
• Steals: Zakheim (2), Bardichev (2), Itcovichi (2)
• Blocks: Sundjyvsky (1), Bardichev (1)

 
UP NEXT
Squeezing in one more game before the Thanksgiving Break, the Macs will travel to The College of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7:00 PM.