NEW YORK, NY - Growing their undefeated conference record out to 3-0, the Yeshiva men's basketball team took down Sarah Lawrence College, defeating the Gryphons by a score of 78-66 on Sunday, Nov. 26.
Offensively, the Maccabees saw double digit performances out of three of their starters, with
Zevi Samet leading the way with 27, while
Max Zakheim and
Or Sundjyvsky followed close behind at 19 and 10 respectively.
Defensively, Yeshiva registered six players with multiple steals, as Sundjysky (4), Samet (3), Zakheim (3),
Dothan Bardichev (3),
Adi Markovich (2) and
Gabriel Landau (2) all stifled the SLC attack. Overall, the Macs swiped 17 steals on the day, a season high for the team.
With the win, the Macs are 5-3, 3-0 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Despite Yeshiva jumping out to an early 2-0 lead off of a Samet layup, the Macs quickly lost control of the game, seeing the Gryphons rocket out to a 16-9 advantage over the first six and a half minutes of play.
- Despite this setback, YU continued to fight, chipping away at Sarah Lawrence's margin over the following minutes, and eventually regaining the lead at 22-21 with 5:40 left in the half.
- Both offenses floundered over the next three minutes, not seeing a basket from either side in between 5:40 and 2:43. A jumper from Roy Itcovichi finally broke the deadlock and grew Yeshiva's advantage out to three at 24-21.
- This margin would not last however, as a 6-0 SLC run to end the period, punctuated by a rim-shaking dunk, saw YU trailing 27-24 headed into the break.
- While Yeshiva's offense struggled throughout the first half, their defense picked up much of the slack, forcing 16 turnovers out of the Gryphons, a number that included 12 steals.
- Seemingly fixing all their offensive woes in the 15 minutes allotted for halftime, the Maccabees popped off to start up the second half, going on an unprecedented 28-0 run over the first seven minutes of play. The Gryphons were held scoreless over that stretch thanks in part to another six turnovers forced by the YU defense, solidifying the unit's chokehold on the game. By the time a Gryphon jumper finally got SLC on the board, Yeshiva had already effectively run away with the contest, leading by a monstrous 25 points.
- While Sarah Lawrence fought back, showing signs of life and even threatening YU's lead at times, the Macs never let their opponents draw any closer than nine points, sporting a comfortable 78-66 margin by the time the final buzzer sounded.
MAC LEADERS
- Points: Samet (27), Zakheim (19), Sundjyvsky (10)
- Assists: Sundjyvsky (6), Markovich (6), Zakheim (5)
- Rebounds: Zakheim (9), Sundjysvky (7), Bardichev (5)
- Steals: Sundjyvsky (4), Samet (3), Zakheim (3), Bardichev (3)
- Blocks: Bardichev (2), Freundlich (1)
UP NEXT
Staying home for their final game of November, the Macs will host the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 PM.
