Farmingdale State - 73, Yeshiva University - 69 F/2OT
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team outlasted Yeshiva University, 73-69, in double overtime this evening to clinch home court advantage throughout the Skyline Conference playoffs. This is the second straight season the Rams will enter the postseason as the #1 seed.
Trailing 50-48 with 8:37 remaining in regulation, Farmingdale State (17-7, 15-4) recorded six straight points on a pair of George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) layups and a basket from Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) to open up a four-point advantage. On the next Maccabees (14-10, 12-7) possession, senior center Eli Mamann (Boca Raton, Fla.) connected on a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 54-53 with 4:14 on the clock.
The Rams regained a three-point lead, 56-53, after junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) was fouled and converted both free-throws. With 1:10 left to play, Yeshiva's Bar Alluf (Kfar Saba, Israel) tallied the final points in regulation on a 3 off the pass from Gabriel Leifer (Lawrence, N.Y.) to tie the game at 56-56 and force overtime.
The Maccabees led 59-58 in the first overtime before a Riefenstahl layup put the Rams back in front by one with 2:33 remaining. After a layup by sophomore guard Tyler Hod (Teaneck, N.J.) on Yeshiva's next trip down the court, FSC's Jermaine Fraser (Valley Stream, N.Y.) converted a layup to bring the Rams' lead back to one, 62-21, with 1:42 left on the clock. With nine seconds remaining and Yeshiva down two, Hod was fouled and hit both shots at the line to even the score at 63-63 and send the game to double overtime.
Over the first 2:49 of the second overtime, the Rams used scores from Riefenstahl, Fraser and Mableton to take a 69-63 advantage. After an Alluf 3-pointer cut the deficit to three, FSC sophomore guard Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) answered with a 3 from the corner off Graham's pass to bring the lead back to six. With five seconds on the clock and Farmingdale State ahead 72-69, Riefenstahl hit the game-clinching free-throw as the Rams earned the 73-69 victory.
Riefenstahl finished the night with a team-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting and had game-highs in both rebounds (16) and blocks (3). Fraser pitched in with 12 points (6-of-9 shooting) and had six rebounds, while Graham scored nine points and tied a career-high with nine boards. Mableton, for the second straight game, had seven assists for the Rams.
The Maccabees were led by Alluf who scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Farmingdale State will close out the regular season on senior day when they play host to Skyline opponent Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday, February 17th at 2:00 p.m.
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