In the first-ever “Battle of the Macs”, the Immaculata Mighty Macs outlasted the Yeshiva Maccabees, 69-63. The game was an offensive struggle on both sides, as both teams struggled to find open looks and convert throughout the night. Yeshiva opened up with a 12-point lead in the first half, but Immaculata clawed their way back into the game in the second half and hung on for the victory.
It was a slow and sloppy start for both teams, and the game appeared destined to be a low-scoring one. Yeshiva was able to eke out a 26-14 lead on an Oren Betesh layup with 6:04 remaining in the first half, but Immaculata stayed relatively close, cut that lead in half, and only trailed by six at the break. The teams traded the lead back and forth throughout the early stages of the second half until Immaculata broke away and took a 55-46 lead with 8:14 left in the game. Yeshiva applied the press and scored seven straight baskets to cut the lead down to two, but Immaculata knocked down shots when they needed to and won the game by six points.
Paint Battle:
With neither team having much success from beyond the arc, tonight’s game was going to have to be won inside the paint, and Immaculata took advantage of that fact. Yeshiva was only outrebounded by seven, but it felt like much more than that because Immaculata was able to turn their offensive rebounds into points, while the Maccabees struggled in that area. Immaculata’s Tim Schultice used his size well, grabbing nine rebounds and hitting multiple turn-around shots from the edge of the paint.
Free Throw Shooting:
The game came down to free throw shooting in the end, and Immaculata hit the ones they needed to secure the victory. While they only shot 14/24 from the stripe, they got to the line almost twice as many times as Yeshiva, and their ability to draw contact and knock down free throws ultimately won them the game.
For Immaculata (3-6):
Big man Tyler Tillery led the team with 14 points, three of which were from a deep three with the shot clock expiring late in the second half that gave his team a five-point cushion
Tim Schultice added 13 points, along with nine rebounds
Brandon Perez came off the bench and shot a perfect 3/3 from downtown as part of his 10 points on the night
For Yeshiva (8-6, 6-2):
Oren Betesh added another stellar shooting performance, knocking down 5/7 from three and leading the Maccabees with 17 points
Matan Zucker had an all-around game with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists
Roy Itcovitchi had another solid game, scoring 12 and grabbing six rebounds
Up Next:
The Macs host Tufts University on December 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 PM.
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