BRONXVILLE, NY - Suffering their third straight conference loss, the Yeshiva men's basketball team were defeated by Sarah Lawrence College, losing to the Gryphons by a score of 73-77 on Thursday, Feb. 7.
 
Offensively, the Maccbees saw another stellar game out of reigning Skyline Player-of-the-Week Zevi Samet, with the Monsey native dropping 23 points on the night. Also scoring in double digits, both Effy Freundlich (19) and Roy Itcovichi (12) made their presence known on the stat sheet, with Freundlich's mark proving good enough to set a new career best.
 
On top of their on-ball production, Freundlich and Itcovichi also had monster games on the defensive end of the court. Freundlich pulled down four rebounds while recording three steals and two blocks, teaming up with Itcovichi who recorded four steals and a block to form a lethal ball-stopping duo.
 
With the loss, the Macs are now 13-10, 10-4 in conference play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Seizing the lead early on, the shooting of Samet, Freundlich, Itcovichi  and Dothan Bardichev pushed Yeshiva out in front of their opponents in green, going up by as many as six points on multiple occasions throughout the first half.
   
• The Macs' advantage would falter only once, and very briefly, throughout the period, as the Gryphons went up 27-26 with 7:30 remaining. Undeterred, YU answered quickly, retaking their edge with a decisive Samet triple, securing a lead that would last through the break. As the halftime horn sounded, Yeshiva went into the locker room up 43-39.
   
• Maintaining their momentum, the Macs would skyrocket their lead early on in the second half, pushing it out to double digits and going up by as many as 13 points at 54-41.
   
• This advantage would last through the next ten minutes, but would find itself tested throughout the waning minutes of play. Seeing their lead shrink down to four, then three, then one, an undermanned Macs squad could only watch as their edge was snatched away from them with 1:07 remaining. While a Freundlich layup recaptured it at 73-72, that would be the final bucket scored by a blue jersey. Five Sarah Lawrence points in the final 38 seconds sealed YU's fate, sending the Maccabees back home with a 77-73 loss.

 
MAC LEADERS

• Points: Samet (23), Freundlich (19), Itcovichi (12)
• Assists: Bardichev (6), Markovich (6), Rodin (3)
• Rebounds: Oselka (6), Bardichev (5), Freundlich (4)
• Steals: Itcovichi (4), Markovich (4), Freundlich (3)
• Blocks: Freundlich (2), Itcovichi (1), Bardichev (1)

 
UP NEXT
Returning to Max Stern for their final regular season home game of the year, the Macs will host the University of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 8:00 PM.