Men's Basketball Sets Program Single-Game Scoring Record in Win Over St. Joseph's Brooklyn

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's basketball team (1-4, 1-1 Skyline) earned its first victory of the season on Tuesday, defeating Skyline rival St. Joseph's College Brooklyn (0-4, 0-2 Skyline) by a score of 124-91, at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Yeshiva set a program record for most points in a single game, eclipsing the previous mark set in in the 1958-59 season when Yeshiva scored 116 points against Brooklyn Polytechnic. As a team, the Maccabees shot 65 percent from the field (46-70 FG) and drained 16 shots from beyond the arc (61 percent from 3-point range). YU scored 60 points in the opening half, and then added 64 more in the second stanza. "It's just nice to get our first win of the season," Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said. "We have a lot of work to do to continue to get better every day. But, when we move the ball, we can score, that's for sure." Leading the way for the Maccabees was freshman guard Ryan Turell, who scored a career-high 29 points and shot 10-14 from the field. The Los Angeles native also brought down eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, and blocked a pair of shots. First-year guard Daniel Tzion produced 24 points, clutched six rebounds, distributed three assists, and forced two steals. Junior guard Simcha Halpert scored 20 points (8-11 FG) and forced three steals, while senior forward Tal Gweta chipped in with 13 points and five assists. Yeshiva got off to a slow start, falling behind 32-18, just over nine minutes in. Later in the period, the Maccabees turned the tide by scoring 10 unanswered points, capped off by a layup from Simcha Halpert, to even the game at 38-38 with 6:10 left to play in the first half. Yeshiva produced another rally to close out the period, scoring 13 of the stanza's final 16 points to take a 60-50 lead into the locker room. Eight of those 13 points were scored by Turell, courtesy of a traditional three-point play, a 3-point field goal, and a pair of free throws. The Bears could not sustain a run to get back into the game during the second half. A 19-3 run by Yeshiva, concluded by a dunk from Turell, gave the home team a commanding 110-77 advantage, with 5:03 remaining in regulation time. Senior forward Michael Hayon's 3-pointer, with 3:18 left to play, tied the team's single-game scoring record. Less than two minutes later, a successful free throw by sophomore guard Eitan Halpert set the record. Eitan Halpert came back to hit two more shots from the charity stripe, with 35 ticks left on the clock, to score Yeshiva's 123rd and 124th points of the contest. The Maccabees went on to earn the convincing Skyline victory by 33 points. For the evening, junior forward Daniel Katz produced nine points, dished out eight assists, and grabbed six rebounds. Freshman guard Jeffrey Owen produced nine points with three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals. Junior forward Gabriel Leifer had seven points with three rebounds. Senior guard Justin Hod had five points, while junior forward Kevin Bokor scored two points. Yeshiva will hit the road on Thursday for a Skyline matchup at Mount Saint Mary. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.