Farmingdale State - 80, Yeshiva - 78
New York, N.Y. - Trailing by three, 78-75, with six seconds left, Farmingdale State senior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) hit a game-tying 3-pointer. On Yeshiva's ensuing possession, Rams senior forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) stole the inbound pass and quickly threw the ball ahead to junior forward Jermaine Fraser (Valley Stream, N.Y.) who tallied the game-winning layup with one second left to give FSC the 80-78 victory. With the win, Farmingdale State snapped the Maccabees' 17-game winning streak and finished the regular season 18-7 overall and 16-4 in the conference. Yeshiva dropped to 18-6 overall and 16-3 in the Skyline with one conference game remaining.
The Rams led 26-22 with five minutes left in the first half, but Yeshiva junior forward Daniel Katz (Baltimore, Md.) would tally back-to-back layups to knot the game at 26-26.
Over the next 2:37, FSC used an 11-1 run to take a 37-27 advantage. Graham and junior guard Troy Feeney (Hewlett, N.Y.) combined for all 11 points during the run.
The Rams led 41-34 at the halftime break and opened the second half on an 11-5 run to take a 13-point advantage, 52-39.
Still leading by 13, 54-41, with 16 minutes remaining, Fraser tallied a pair of layups to put FSC ahead 58-41. Over the next 5:22, Yeshiva would score 11 unanswered points to cut the deficit to just six, 58-52. After a pair of Graham free-throws, Katz registered a three-point play, before junior forward Gabriel Leifer (Lawrence, N.Y.) tallied a layup to close within three, 60-57.
Trailing 69-66 with 5:43 left, Maccabees freshman guard Ryan Turrell (Los Angeles, Calif.) knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game. After Rams' junior guard Ryan Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y.) tallied a layup to regain a two-point advantage, a quick 5-0 run by Yeshiva allowed them to take their first lead of the second half, 74-71, with 2:38 remaining.
Down 74-72 with only 44 seconds left, Riefenstahl hit a layup and a free-throw to put Farmingdale State ahead by one. The Maccabees quickly responded with a Leifer layup to take a 76-75 lead. With just 12 seconds left, the Rams were forced to foul Yeshiva junior guard Simcha Halpert (Los Angeles, Calif.) who went 2-for 2 at the line.
Just six seconds later, Graham tallied the game-tying 3-pointer before Riefenstahl set up Fraser for the game-winning layup to secure FSC's 80-78 victory.
Riefenstahl led the way for Farmingdale State with a team-high 21 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks. Graham finished with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while senior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) and Kennedy recorded 13 and 12 points, respectively. Feeney added eight points, while Fraser had six points in the win.
For Yeshiva, Halpert produced a game-high 24 points, while Leifer registered 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Farmingdale State has earned a First Round bye for the upcoming playoffs and awaits word of their Semifinal opponent. The home semifinal game will be held on Friday, February 22nd.
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