NEW YORK, NY - On a night that has already secured a prominent place in the YU history books, the Yeshiva Men's Basketball Team took down St. Joseph's University Brooklyn, beating the Bears by a score of 95-75 on Saturday, Jan. 17th.
 
The night was notable on two counts, with history being made both on the court and from the bench. With his 23 point-performance, Zevi Samet reached 2,163 career points, overtaking the legendary Ryan Turell to become the all-time leading scorer in Yeshiva Basketball history.
 
Guiding Samet throughout his entire collegiate career has been Head Coach Elliot Steinmetz, who, with tonight's win, secured his 200th career victory, becoming just the second coach in program history to do so. Steinmetz now ranks behind only Yeshiva Athletics Hall of Famer and all-time great Jonathan Halpert, who won 416 games throughout his 42-year career.
 
Offensively, the Maccabees saw four players score in double digits. Samet led the way with 23 points, while Yoav Oselka, Roy Itcovichi, and Max Zakheim knocked down 18, 13, and 11 respectively.
 
On top of his scoring prowess, Oselka also had a stellar night in the paint, dominating the glass for a team-high eight rebounds.
 
With the result, the Macs are now 8-8, a perfect 7-0 in conference play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Yeshiva roared out of the gate with a head of steam, hammering down 22 points before SJBK had a chance to reach double digits. Up 14 after just eight and a half minutes of play, the Maccabees continued to press, pushing their lead out to as many as 20 points at 36-16.
   
• The Macs held their margin through the rest of the period, relying on stellar shooting from Itcovichi and Oselka to keep the Bears locked down. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Yeshiva went into the locker room with a comfortable 48-30 lead.
   
• The second half saw the Maccabee lead balloon even further, with a deep three from Samet pushing their advantage out to 26 with 15:06 remaining.
   
• A three just like it proved to be the highlight of the game just under 10 minutes later. With the Macs up by 15 at 78-63 with 5:30 left in regulation, Samet caught a dumpoff pass from Zakheim just beyond the top-left corner of the arc. The shot caught nothing but net, sending the MSAC crowd into hysterics. Everyone in the arena had been counting along, but the following exclamation from PA announcer Marty Collins made it official - "Ladies and gentlemen, with that last shot Zevi Samet has become the all-time leading scorer in Yeshiva Basketball history." Samet had done it. The Heights has a new king, and his name is The Monsey Mamba.
   
• Yeshiva closed out the game strong, outscoring their conference foe 14-12 over the final five minutes. The Maccabees walked out of the MSAC with a 95-75 win, capping a historic night for their star, their coach, and their program.

 
MAC LEADERS

• Points: Samet (23), Oselka (18), Itcovichi (13), Zakheim (11)
• Assists: Dovrat (7), Bardichev (6), Samet (5)
• Rebounds: Oselka (8), Dovrat (5), Schanzer (4), Itcovichi (4)
• Steals: Dovrat (3), Bardichev (2), Itcovichi (1), Zakheim (1)
• Blocks: Dovrat (1)

 
UP NEXT
Kicking off next week on the road, the Maccabees will travel out to The College at Old Westbury on Tuesday, Jan. 20th at 7:00 PM.