The Yeshiva Maccabees defeated the Manhattanville University Valiants by a score of 83-76, eliminating the Valiants from playoff contention. Notably, Max Zakheim became the 33rd player in Macs history to score 1,000 career points.
How It Happened:
The game started with both teams missing shots. After three and a half minutes, the Macs built a 10-6 lead behind four points from Zevi Samet. This was followed by a stretch where both teams shot a combined 0-9 from the field. An Andrew Saint-Louis layup ended that dry spell for Manhattanville with 14 minutes left to play in the half.
The first half continued with both teams failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities, and Manhattanville tied the score at 16 with a Carlos Urena three at the midpoint of the half.
Notably, the Macs went 3:33 without a bucket, before Or Sundjyvsky converted a feed from Dothan Bardichev. The Valiants jumped out to their largest lead of the night with just over 7 minutes remaining on a Urena trey, which made the score 25-20.
Things took a turn for the Macs after that three, as they went on a 16-4 run to close out the first half. Most notably, Samet had 7 points. The Valiants went 1-11 over that stretch, with their lone points coming off a pair of Saint-Louis free throws and a fastbreak layup with 8 seconds to go. The Macs went into the break leading 36-29.
The second half started with a Roy Itcovichi layup to extend the lead to 9 points. However, the Macs quickly found themselves in foul trouble as the Valiants’ dribble-drive attack caused the Macs a lot of trouble. The Macs picked up 5 fouls in the first four and a half minutes of the second half.
With 15:18 remaining, Max Zakheim drilled a three from the wing off a feed from Samet, for his 1,000th career point to extend the lead to 48-39. The game stopped as the Max Stern Athletic Center crowd gave Zakheim a standing ovation. However, the Macs started to struggle, going over 3 minutes without a bucket before Tom Beza made a beautiful reverse layup to give the Macs a 54-43 lead with 12 minutes left, their largest of the night.
Some back-and-forth play followed, but things started to become a bit dicey for the Macs as they kept picking up fouls, awarding Manhattanville many opportunities at the line. The Valiants went on a 10-3 run as the Macs went three and a half minutes without a bucket, and Andrew Melillo converted a pair at the line to tie the game at 67 with 5:21 left to play.
The Macs quickly regained a 4 point lead off buckets from Sundjyvsky and Zakheim, but the Valiants came right back to knot up the score at 73 on a Saint-Louis trey with just over 3 minutes left. On the ensuing Macs possession, Zakheim scored on one of his signature driving layups, and the Macs never looked back. The Valiants resorted to playing Hack-a-Mac, going 8-10 from the charity stripe, hanging on for an 83-76 dub to eliminate the Valiants from playoff contention.
Max Zakheim reached the 1,000 point club as the Macs eliminated the Valiants from playoff contention with an 83-76 win on Wednesday night. (Photo Credit: Akiva Poppers/MacsLive)
Sundjyvsky Shines:
Or Sundjyvsky has been a major bright spot for the Macs since his return to the lineup, including an 18-point performance tonight. He has been playing his best basketball in a Macs uniform lately, while coming off the bench as the 6th man. Once again, Sundjyvsky looked like the best overall Mac out there tonight, using his size and skill to his potential. In 8 games since his return, he has averaged 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals.
2nd Half Inconsistency:
Once again, the Macs had an inconsistent second half. Just days after blowing an eight-point lead to Sarah Lawrence, the Macs nearly squandered an 11-point lead tonight as well. The Macs shot 13-33 (39.4%) from the field, but picked up 16 fouls, allowing the Valiants to shoot 27 free throws. The Macs switched to a pack-line defense in the second half to counter the Valiants’ dribble-drive offense, but that decision almost came to haunt them, despite out rebounding the Valiants 22-15 in the half. In order for the Macs to make a playoff run, they need to play consistent, smart basketball for all 40 minutes.
Bend, Don’t Break:
Even though the Valiants tied the game up with 3 minutes left, the Macs maintained their composure. Zakheim scored on the very next possession, which turned out to be the final basket made for either team. The Macs hit key free throws and got a few big stops from their defense to hang on for the win.
Second Chance Points:
The Macs capitalized on the Valiants’ 5-guard lineup, out rebounding them 14-3 on the offensive lines and outscoring the Valiants 16-0 on second-chance opportunities.
Up Next:
The Macs have locked up at least the #3 seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament. In order to clinch the #2 seed, they need Sarah Lawrence to lose to the visiting Valiants while the Macs also need to win at home on Senior/Alumni night on Saturday Night at the Max Stern Athletics Center vs. Mount Saint Mary. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 PM.
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