The Macs dropped a nail-biter to the Hope Flying Dutchmen by a score of 87-79, in a game where the defensive presence of the injured Or Sundjyvsky was sorely missed. During the final game before Winter Break, the Macs managed to stay in this one for 39 minutes before the Flying Dutchmen pulled away with the game with about a minute left.
How it Happened:
The Flying Dutchmen won the opening tip but couldn’t corral possession. After a couple of possessions that came up empty, Adi Markovitch drilled a three 1:15 into the contest.
After some back-and-forth ball, the Flying Dutchmen started to pull away, going on a 12-2 run and taking a 28-20 lead with 8:30 left in the first half while dominating on the offensive glass.
Shortly thereafter, the Macs started to claw at their deficit, with Max Zakheim converting a big and-one with 7:36 left in the half. Effy Freundlich followed that up with an electric dunk while getting fouled that got the Max Stern Athletic Center rocking.
Unfortunately, Freundlich could not convert the subsequent and-one and the Flying Dutchmen went on a 6-0 run, restoring their seven-point lead, while the Macs went scoreless for the next three minutes.
After Roy Itcovichi hit a three to break the dry spell, the Macs went on a 9-4 run to go into the half down only 40-38. The Flying Dutchmen absolutely dominated on the glass, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, while the Macs only had 10 defensive rebounds.
The Flying Dutchmen came out strong in the second half, with Tanner Wiegerink finishing an alley-oop from Justice Mims about a minute in, allowing the Dutchmen to take a five-point lead.
The Flying Dutchmen found themselves in early foul trouble, taking five fouls within the first four and a half minutes; this allowed the Macs to go on a 6-0 run and take a 51-50 lead off a fastbreak layup by Zakheim five minutes in.
The next few minutes saw a lot of back-and-forth and many lead changes, but the Dutchmen went on an 11-2 run about midway through the half, giving themselves an eight-point lead with just over eight minutes to go.
The Macs followed that up with an eight-point run of their own, including a beautiful behind-the-back dish from Markovitch to Freundlich, followed by another Zakheim three to tie the game up with just over six minutes left to play.
A nail-biting final minutes saw a long pause in the game with 2:43 left while the coaches and officials tried to calculate how many timeouts each team had. This was followed up by a Gabe Quillan layup and a Zevi Samet three to cut the lead to two points with 1:11 to go.
The Macs couldn’t capitalize off that possible momentum shift and failed to convert a field goal after Zevi’s three. The free-throw game also failed, and the Macs fell to the Flying Dutchmen 87-79.
Max Zakheim poured in 30 points, bringing Macs fans "Hope". Ultimately it wasn't enough as the Macs fell to the Flying Dutchmen 87-79. (Photo Credit: Akiva Poppers/MacsLive)
Glass Struggles:
The Macs struggled mightily on the glass tonight, allowing the Flying Dutchmen to grab 20 offensive rebounds while only grabbing 22 defensive rebounds. In total, they were outrebounded 48-25 in the game. Tanner Wiegerink and Gabe Quillan grabbed five and four offensive rebounds, respectively, breaking through the Macs’ 1-3-1 zone scheme. The Flying Dutchmen scored 26 second-chance points tonight and just absolutely dominated the Macs. The defensive presence of Or Sundjyvsky (shoulder) was missed, and the Macs definitely look forward to getting both him and Yoav Oselka (high ankle sprain) back after the break.
Free Throws Galore:
On the bright side, the Macs did a really good job of drawing contact and getting fouls, with Max Zakheim and Zevi Samet each going 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. In total, the Macs drew 22 fouls, including four and-ones, going 20-26 (76.9%) from the line, while the Flying Dutchmen found themselves in foul trouble very early on in the second half. Even though Dothan Bardichev was the only guy to foul out, albeit with less than a second left, Clayton Dykhouse, Gabe Quillan, and Justice Mims all picked up 4 fouls for Hope.
For Hope (7-3 Overall, 0-0 MIAA):
Tanner Wiegerink and Gabe Quillan both recorded double-doubles; Wiegerink finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Quillan finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Flying Dutchmen finished 34-74 (45.9%) from the field, including hitting six of 21 (28.6%) shots from beyond the arc.
There was a very large Hope contingent in the crowd, as their women’s basketball team is also on the same trip to New York; they were very electric at times.
Parker Hovey finished with an impressive six steals for the Flying Dutchmen, leading both teams.
For Yeshiva (9-6 Overall, 6-1 Skyline):
Max Zakheim led the Macs in scoring, finishing with 30 points.
While Zevi Samet was cold from downtown, only hitting two of his eight shots, he still finished with 26 points on the night.
Dothan Bardichev didn’t hit a field goal, but he did show off his passing skills, recording a game-high six assists, including a beautiful feed to Effy Freundlich for a highlight-reel dunk. Adi Markovich also recorded six assists on the night.
With Sundjyvsky out, Roy Itcovichi played a season-high 38 minutes, recording five points and five rebounds.
Aside from Sundjyvsky, the Macs were missing two key players off the bench: Gav Landau (finger) and Ben Haber (knee). Coach Steinmetz has been checking in with them, and they should be good to go after the break.
Up Next:
Next week, the Macs will be heading to Israel to bring joy and positivity, thanks to AFI (Athletes for Israel). They also have a scheduled game against Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion, whose roster includes former Yeshiva player Simcha Halpert. After the break, the Macs head to Immaculata, PA, taking on Immaculata University on Thursday, January 18.
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