GAME RECAP: Mens Basketball routs Mount Saint Vincent, 99-56
By Roey Herzfeld
Brian Books of Mount Saint Vincent lost control of the ball as it was knocked out by a Macs defender and rolled toward the sidelines. Senior Michael Hayon dove on the ball before it could roll out of bounds securing possession for Yeshiva. This play was almost insignificant in the final results of the game, but represented everything the Macs brought out tonight.
All night the Macs hustled for loose balls, closed out shooters, boxed out defenders and gritted their way to stingy defensive performance. Led by Daniel Katz, Gabe Leifer (5 blocks) and MIchael Hayon (2 defensive charges) the Macs frustrated the Mount Saint Vincent offense throughout the game.
The matchup was tight for the first few minutes with Macs relying on three pointers by Ryan Turell and Donny Katz to keep them even. Eitan Halpert and Daniel Tzion came up big on the offensive end after entering the game from the bench. A Daniel Katz touchdown pass ended with a Ryan Turell dunk and the Macs eventually broke free gaining a 26-13 lead with 9 min in the first half.
The Dolphins looked to stay close and went on a 7-0 run to bring the lead within 6, before Jeffrey Owen’s layup put the Macs back up 8. The Macs defense then buckled up, allowing just six points for the rest of the half. On the offensive end, Eitan Halpert, Donny Katz, and Daniel Tzion continued to provide as the Macs brought their lead up to 42-26 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Macs continued their stellar defense and Donny Katz continued to make shots for Yeshiva and the Macs gained a 54-29 lead early in the second half. After struggling for most of the game, Yeshiva star Simcha Halpert caught fire, knocking down three three pointers in a row, with Ryan Turell and Gabe Leifer also getting in the mix of things as Yeshiva extended their lead to 86-42.
Sammy Mandel, Justin Hod, and Jeffrey Owen all scored late points for the Macs as they finished the game with a whopping 99-56 victory.
For the Macs, Donny Katz led all scoring with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Ryan Turell added another 18 points and Simcha Halpert added 15 points and 4 assists. Gabe Leifer also had a nice game with 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Eitan Halpert and Daniel Tzion contributed with 9 and 8 points respectively.
The Macs improve to 2-5 on the year and 2-2 in Skyline play. Next up for the Macs is a home game on Tuesday vs 2-4 (1-2 Conference) St Joseph’s College. Tipoff is 8:00 PM. You can catch all the action, as you always can, on macslive.com or on Facebook live.
