YESHIVA REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN SKYLINE AS MACS DISMANTLE MANHATTANVILLE:

At the 13:19 mark of the second half, the color commentator for the Manhattanville Valiants uttered: “This is turning into a bit of a catastrophe [for Manhattanville]." Following a tightly contested first half, the Yeshiva Maccabees pulled away from Manhattanville and were Valiant in the Kennedy Gymnasium, by a final score of 79-57. In a game where balanced scoring led the way on offense, it was the Yeshiva defense that propelled the Maccabees Sunday afternoon, causing Manhattanville fits as the Macs didn’t allow any offensive continuity against their Skyline Conference foe. Overall, it was an impressive performance from a Maccabees team who appear to be in postseason form in early February- a great sign for a squad with high aspirations for this season.

How It Happened:

• Early in the game, the Yeshiva offensive strategy was clear: they would attack the paint against a much smaller Manhattanville defense. They were extremely successful as Zevi Samet (11 points, 6 rebounds), Max Zakheim (15 points, 6 rebounds), and Yair Dovrat (19 points, 7 assists) collected both acrobatic and easy lay-ups in the paint, pushing Yeshiva out to an early lead

• On the defensive side, the Macs were just as good, if not better. Every Manhattanville field goal attempt was heavily contested, resulting in a severe cold streak from the Valiants. Five minutes into the game, Yeshiva held its opponent to just three points. 

• As the first half continued, Manhattanville had its best stretch of the game. Led by John Ranaghan and Antonio Del Vescovo, the Valiants managed to take the lead 22-20 with three minutes remaining in the half. The Macs regained the lead before Dovrat and Chris Robinson traded three pointers in the dying seconds of the opening twenty minutes. When the clock struck zero in the first half, Yeshiva had a 33-31 lead. 

• The Macs exploded out of the gate in the second half. Yair Dovrat rattled off eight consecutive points, followed by an eye-opening Zevi Samet behind-the-back crossover and finish. Yeshiva’s lead ballooned to twelve, all before the Valiants could find their footing. 

• It felt as though the Maccabees were beginning to pull away. Even the color announcer for Manhattanville felt uneasy stating explicitly that the game was turning into a catastrophe for his Valiants. He was right. Yeshiva’s offense was relentless, burying triple and getting inside at will. Playing in panic mode, Manhattantive committed many foolish turnovers, including a lackadaisical backcourt violation with 10 minutes to go, as Yeshiva was causing all kinds of problems on defense. 

• The Macs did a great job keeping the pressure on, and once they extended their lead, the Valiants were unable to put a run together and never got back into the game. When it was all over, the Macs had themselves an impressive 79-57 road win. 

Yair Dovrat’s Second Half Explosion: 

It can be easy to forget that at halftime, this was a tight contest. Manhattanville did a great job clawing its way back in the first half to cut the Macs’ lead to just two at the break. Yeshiva had an excellent start to the second half largely because of a brilliant stretch from Yair Dovrat. Dovrat started off with a nifty drive to the basket for two. He then nailed back-to-back three-pointers, the latter which prompted a Manhattanville time-out and set the tone for what would be a second half dominated by Yeshiva. Dovrat has been a standout freshman all year long, and this stretch of his once again showed how dangerous he can be. 

Balanced Scoring Leads the Way:

On Sunday afternoon in Purchase, New York there was not one particular Maccabee who stole the show. Rather, the spotlight was shared by several members of the team. Yair Dovrat was the leading scorer with 19, but a trio of other Macs found themselves with double figures. Max Zakheim continued his strong play with 15 points and an utterly ridiculous reverse lay up. Zevi Samet added 11 points and Dothan Bardichev had one of his best outputs of the season, recording a double double. Yoav Oselka, Joe Schanzer and Noam Edri added big buckets as well, as the depth of this Yeshiva squad was on display. It was an impressive, team wide performance today, as the Macs remained perfect in the Skyline Conference, with a sparkling 13-0 record. 

UP NEXT:

Yeshiva will host University of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday night(2/10) at the Max Stern Athletics Center. Tip off is at 8:00PM. That will be followed by hosting Sarah Lawrence on Saturday night where the Macs will hold their annual Senior Night.