NEW YORK, NY - Avenging their 2023 playoff loss, the Yeshiva men's basketball team toppled No. 3 seed Manhattanville College, downing the Valiants by a score of 80-68 on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Offensively, the Maccabees saw production up and down the depth chart, with five different YU players scoring in double-digits. Stalwart sharp-shooter
Zevi Samet led the way with 20 points, while
Max Zakheim (15),
Or Sundjyvsky (15),
Dothan Bardichev (13) and
Roy Itcovichi (13) all made their presence felt on the stat sheet.
On top of his point total, Bardichev also dominated the glass, picking up his sixth double-double of the season with ten rebounds on the night.
Bardichev also had an excellent outing on the defensive side of the ball, teaming up with Zakheim and
Effy Freundlich to stifle the Valiant attack, with each man swiping two steals.
With the win, the Maccabees advance to the Skyline Conference Finals, where they will meet perennial foe and No. 1 seed, Farmingdale State College.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Both squads kicked off a fiery first half trading punches back and forth, as the lead swung from Yeshiva to Manhattanville and then back to Yeshiva in only a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, thanks to the expert scoring of Sundjyvsky, Samet and Zakheim, the Macs came out on top of the trade, eventually able to pull away from their foe and establish a firm double digit advantage just over halfway through the period.
- Leading by as many as 14 points at 33-19, Yeshiva maintained their dominant hold of the game throughout the remainder of the half. While their lead would dip back into the single digits, by the time the halftime horn blew, YU walked into the locker room sitting on a comfortable 40-33 advantage.
- Much like the first half, the teams opened the second laying into one another, matching basket for basket and seeing the margin relatively unchanged through the first nine minutes of play. However, it was then that Manhattanville seized upon back-to-back missed shots from YU, tying the game up at 59-all with 8:25 remaining in regulation.
- Not shaken by the sudden reinvigoration of their opponent, Yeshiva quickly dealt with the threat, as a pair of Sundjyvsky foul shots kickstarted a devastating 13-0 Maccabee run, ballooning YU's lead out to 72-59 with 2:59 remaining.
- That Mac edge proved insurmountable for a worn down Manhattanville side. With their lead only briefly dipping back down into the single digits over the final minutes of play, Yeshiva closed out the other bench with near surgical efficiency, sending the Valiants packing with a resounding 80-68 victory.
MAC LEADERS
- Points: Samet (20), Zakheim (15), Sundjyvsky (15), Bardichev (13), Itcovichi (13)
- Assists: Bardichev (5), Zakheim (4), Markovich (4)
- Rebounds: Bardichev (10), Zakheim (5), Itcovichi (5)
- Steals: Bardichev (2), Zakheim (2), Freundlich (2)
UP NEXT
Traveling out Farmingdale, New York, the Maccabees are set to take on Farmingdale State College in the Skyline Conference Finals on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1:00 PM, facing off with the Rams with not only the conference title on the line, but a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
