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Matthew Loren

Macs fall to Wooster, split Ohio road trip

The Macs suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the College of Wooster Fighting Scots by a score of 85-64, splitting their season-opening road trip to Ohio. After going into halftime tied 37-37, Wooster outscored the Macs by a margin of 48-27 in the second half.


How it Happened:

  • The Scots won the opening tip, drawing first blood with a Jamir Billings floater. The two teams started a combined 2-6 from the field. After some back-and-forth, Wooster took a 16-9 lead five minutes into the game thanks to a Billings three.

  • Wooster took a 25-17 lead with nine minutes left in the first, as the Macs went on a four-minute dry spell. Jonathan Levy broke that spell by converting a pair at the charity stripe.

  • The Macs started a paltry 6-16 from the field, going 1-for-8 from downtown, but they started to pick up the scoring after an excellent feed by Jackson Cronin to Or Sundjyvsky. Jackson followed it up with a wide-open three to bring the Macs within four points of the Fighting Scots with 6:32 remaining in the first half.

  • Wooster regained a seven-point lead on the Macs, but five straight points by Yoav Oselka—including converting an and-one—brought the Macs within two points with 2:25 to play in the half. 

  • In the final minutes of the half, the Macs went on a 9-0 run as Sundjyvsky hit a fadeaway to tie the game. Oselka converted a pair at the line to regain the lead: However, Billings converted a pair of free throws late in the half, tying it up at 37 apiece going into the locker room.

  • The Macs started the second half sloppy, allowing Wooster to pull away with a 58-42 lead as they scored 15 consecutive points just six and a half minutes into the half; shooting a measly 2-10 from the field, including 1-6 from 3-point land. Ashton Price had 13 points for Wooster in the half's opening minutes, including three 3-pointers. 

  • Samet broke the three minute dry spell with a midrange jumper, igniting a 7-2 Macs run, but Wooster answered back with an 8-2 run of their own, taking a 17-point lead with nine minutes left to play.

  • Oselka converted another three-point play with eight minutes left, cutting the deficit to 14, but Wooster brought the lead back up to 19 with six minutes to go. 

  • Still trailing by 19 with around two and a half minutes to play, Coach Elliot Steinmetz waved the white flag. Wooster beat the Macs by a final score of 85-64, handing them their first loss of the season.


A dejected Or Sundjyvsky heads to the bench which described how all the YU Macs felt in their 85-64 loss to Wooster on Sunday in Ohio. (Akiva Poppers/Macslive)


Sharing the Sugar:


The Macs moved the ball well on offense, especially in the first half, where they had 10 assists, highlighted by a beautiful feed from Jackson Cronin to Or Sundjyvsky down low. The Macs finished the game with 14 assists and were led by Max Zakheim, who recorded five. The Macs now have 33 assists through their first two games. If the Macs want to see more success this season, they need to keep moving the ball the way they did through their first three halves of the season.


Struggles Finishing:


The Macs struggled mightily from the field today, shooting 22-55 (40%), including a measly 3-20 (15%) from beyond the arc today. In the second half alone, they shot 10-27 (37%) from the field and 1-10 (10%) from three-point land. Notably, after a 34-point performance on Friday vs. Mt. Union, Zevi Samet shot 4-16 on the day for 14 points, only hitting one three, as it was apparent he wasn’t hitting his shots today. However, a bright spot from the Macs today was their success at the charity stripe, going 17-18. They have started the season 35-41 (85.4%) from the line. Samet converted on all five of his chances, while Yoav Oselka went 6-7 from the line today.


Oselka’s Big Day:


Yoav Oselka had arguably the best game of his Macs career today, scoring 14 points and grabbing a team-high five rebounds, while shooting 4-5 from the field and 6-7 from the free-throw line. Oselka looked like a truck out there today, converting two and one opportunities and drawing another chance. After an injury-riddled freshman campaign, the 6’7 sophomore big out of Givatayim, Israel, looks to be a role player who can provide some interior scoring and defense off the bench.



For Yeshiva (1-1):


  • Zevi Samet and Yoav Oselka led the way in scoring with 14 points apiece, while Max Zakheim led the team with five assists

  • The Macs’ backcourt, Zakheim and Samet, struggled from the field today, shooting a combined 9-27.

  • The Macs dished out 10 assists in the first half, while Wooster had four.

  • Tom Valdman and Jon Okner made their Macs debuts today, with Okner picking up his first career field goal.


For Wooster (1-0):


  • Ashton Price led Wooster in scoring with 26 points, 21 of which came in the second half.

  • Jaiden Cox-Holloway scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, good enough to tie the team-high with Nick Everett. He also drilled a team-high four 3-pointers today.

  • The Fighting Scots outrebounded the Macs by a margin of 40-28, grabbing 13 offensive boards.

  • Wooster shot 32-63 (50.8%) from the field today, going 8-28 (28.6%) from three-point range. In the second half alone, they shot 19-35 (54.3%) and went 5-14 (35.7%) from downtown


Up Next:


The Macs look to bounce back, heading home for their home opener on Tuesday vs. the Springfield College Pride (0-1 Overall, 0-0 NEWMAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM at the Max Stern Athletic Center and right here on MacsLive.com


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