On Tuesday night, February 15, the Yeshiva University Maccabees will travel to Riverdale to take on the Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins. The Macs have struggled as of late, having won just two of their last four games, and will look to return to old form with a big matchup against Saint Joseph coming up later in the week. In their first meeting of the season, the Macs beat the Dolphins 81-49 after leading by just three points at the half. Eitan Halpert made six 3-pointers on his way to scoring 27 points in that matchup.
The top scorer for Mount Saint Vincent (9-12), is Dan Porcic who averages 19.5 points per game. The 6’5” junior guard has shown off his range, shooting 43% from three, and also possesses the length to shoot over smaller defenders. Big man Elijah Mckenize, who is a force inside, averaging over 1.5 blocks and 10.1 points per game, was limited to just eight minutes in the first matchup after picking up four fouls. Point guard Aaron Darab leads the team in assists with just under three per game. Darab led the team in scoring with 11 points in the first meeting between these two teams.
Keys to the Game:
Defensive Rotations:
While the Macs have been successful this season in creating turnovers by jumping passing lanes, they have been burned on several occasions in recent games. Rather than gambling on trying to jump passes, which can lead to a defensive scramble if unsuccessful, the Macs should play straight up and force the Dolphins to score on a set defense.
Patient Offense:
In their loss to St. Joseph’s the Macs had eight first half turnovers, which were often results of trying to force passes into tight spaces. With only 16 assists for the game, the Macs were well under their season average of 21. The Macs should remain patient on offense and find open looks for their teammates, but not force additional passes when they have open looks.
Turnovers:
As a team, the Dolphins average more turnovers than assists per game. The Macs should look to take advantage of this and force the Dolphins into isolation matchups against their strong on-ball defenders. This will lead the Dolphins into more difficult shots and turnovers, which the Macs can capitalize on with transition opportunities.
How to Watch:
Tipoff is at 8:00pm at the Peter Jay Sharp Center in Riverdale. CMSV will broadcast the game here.
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