By Sarah Brill
On Friday, March 6, the Yeshiva University Maccabees beat the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers at the Goldfarb Gymnasium at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, with a score of 102-78. In that game, Ryan Turell, SSSB ‘22, Skyline Player of the Year, scored a record 41 points. He also broke the program record for most points scored in a season.
On March 7, the team advanced into their second game against the Penn-State Harrisburg Nittany Lions (PSUH).
It was a tight game in the first half, with PSUH leading the Maccabees 8-7 in the first five minutes. The back and forth continued, with PSUH having a one-point lead over the Maccabees and vise versa, until a jump shot by Simcha Halpert, SSSB’20, pushed the Maccabees over the top, bringing the score to 13-11 with 12 minutes to go in the first half.
YU led PSUH 26-25 with six minutes remaining in the first half. With Gabriel Leifer, SSSB ‘21, leading the team with rebounds and the offensive side taking charge, the Maccabees concluded the first half against the Nittany Lions leading 44-38.
Once the Maccabees gained their rhythm, they were unstoppable. In the second half, the Maccabees started their lead with a score of 55-44, and maintained that lead throughout the second half. The field goal percentage for the Maccabees in this game was 65.1% with their 3PT at 64.7%. Ryan Turell, SSSB ‘22, scored an impressive 30 points for this game, with Simcha Halpert, SSSB ’20, scoring second highest at 21 points, and Ofek Reef, SSSB ‘23, scoring 16 points for the team, making his way through traffic consistently throughout this game.
Breaking triple digits once more in this NCAA tournament, the Maccabees beat the Nittany Lions 102-83, bringing the Maccabee win-streak to 29 games. The Maccabees are headed to the NCAA sweet sixteen tournament for the first time in program history.
On March 7, Randolph-Macon (28-2) defeated The College of New Jersey 85-71, securing its place in the sweet sixteen as well. Yeshiva University will battle Randolph-Macon in Virginia on March 14.
***
Photo: Ryan Turell
Photo Source: Yeshiva University Athletics