#1 Yeshiva - 74, #5 Farmingdale State - 69
New York, N.Y. - Top-seeded and #15 in the Nation Yeshiva University earned a 74-69 home victory over #5 Farmingdale State this evening in the Skyline Conference Men's Basketball Semifinals.
Leading 4-2 early in the first half, the Maccabees (26-1) used a layup and 3-pointer by senior guard Gabriel Leifer (Lawrence, N.Y.) on their next two possessions to go out in front by seven.
With 12:13 on the clock and the Rams (14-13) down 13-4, senior guard Anthony Miller Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y.) hit a layup and free-throw and junior forward Dominique Senat (Elmont, N.Y.) followed with a jumper to cut the deficit to four. Trailing 21-14, Miller Jr. connected on a 3 to again cut the Yeshiva lead to four with 8:21 remaining. The Maccabees answered with a 7-0 run over the next 3:04 to increase the advantage to nine.
Yeshiva led 36-26 with less than two minutes remaining until a Daniel Katz (Baltimore, MD) 3-pointer gave the Maccabees a 13-point edge. YU took a 43-29 advantage into the break after sophomore guard Ryan Turell (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the way with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. For Farmingdale State, Miller Jr. had a team-high 12 points and shot 3-for-6 from the floor.
Senat scored 10 of FSC's first 14 points in the second half as the Rams quickly closed to within four, 47-43, with 15:26 left on the clock. After a Caleb Milobsky layup on Yeshiva's next trip down the floor, Farmingdale State notched seven straight points to take their first lead of the game, 52-49. The Maccabees evened the score at 52-52 on a Simcha Halpert (Los Angeles, Calif.) shot from behind the arc before back-to-back 3's by Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and Ryan Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y.) put FSC on top by six with 8:02 remaining.
With 4:48 on the clock and YU down 60-57, Leifer hit a 3 and Halpert followed with a layup as the Maccabees regained the lead, 62-60.
The Rams trailed 66-64 with 1:58 left to play until a Kennedy 3-pointer put FSC back in front by one. On Yeshiva's next possession, Turell hit a jump shot to put the Maccabees on top, 68-67. Leifer and Halpert each hit a pair of free-throw's after being fouled on YU's next two possessions to give the Maccabees a 72-67 advantage with 22 seconds remaining. Kennedy was fouled on a jump shot with 11 seconds left to play and hit both at the line to again cut the deficit to three, 72-69. Terrell was fouled for Yeshiva and hit two at the line to seal the victory as the Maccabees earned the 74-69 win.
Senat scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and had six rebounds and two blocks, while Miller Jr. and Kennedy each tallied 15 points. Senior forward Jermaine Fraser (Valley Stream, N.Y.) finished the night with seven points and a game-high 11 boards.
For Yeshiva, Terell recorded a game-high 22 points (8-for-13) and both Leifer and Halpert scored 17 points.
#1 Yeshiva will host #2 Purchase in the Skyline Conference Finals on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
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