In their Skyline Conference season opener, the Macs defeated the Purchase College Panthers by a score of 66-50 to snap a two-game losing streak. The Macs were lead by star guard Max Zakheim’s 19 points. While it wasn’t the prettiest victory, the Macs managed to get the job done.
How it Happened:
Purchase won the tip and took a 2-0 lead off a second chance play by Matthew Phillips. The Macs failed to score their first basket until Zevi Samet found Max Zakheim in stride 2:30 into the game. The Macs seemingly lacked confidence to start the game, allowing Purchase to take a 7-2 lead just 4 minutes into the contest.
YU took a 10-9 lead seven minutes into the game after a couple of Jonathan Levy steals, leading to some back-and-forth by both teams. Unfortunately, just 10 minutes into the game, Dothan Bardichev went down with an injury and did not return.
Shortly thereafter, YU’s confidence seemed to come back with some nice passes down low to Luke Cronin. The Macs went on an 13-0 run, highlighted by a Cronin and-one to take a 23-11 lead with 7 minutes left to play in the half.
After about two and a half minutes without any points by either side, the Macs extended their lead to 19 points off an Or Sundjyvsky and-one and a Samet fastbreak with 2 minutes left to go in the half. YU took a 36-18 lead into the locker room.
YU started very slowly in the second half as Purchase scored 7 straight points, cutting the deficit to 11 off a Trey Skeete three pointer two minutes into the half. Samet found Zakheim under the basket three and a half minutes into the half for the Macs’ first points of the half.
The Macs' shooting struggles continued, going 1-9 from the field in the first 9 minutes of the half before Coach Steinmetz called timeout. Purchase’s run continued, highlighted by a Chad Duke and-one and a Skeete corner three which cut the deficit to just 6 points, as the home crowd came alive.
On the Macs’ ensuing possession, Zakheim responded by draining the team’s first three of the game. After some back-and-forth, Samet scored five consecutive points - including a confidence-boosting corner three - to extend the lead to 55-40 with just under 6 minutes left to play.
Zakheim and Duke traded threes with about two and a half minutes left as the Macs broke the Panthers’ press relatively easily. With just over two minutes to play, Or Sundjyvsky fouled out, picking up his fifth. Fortunately, the Macs hung on to secure a 66-50 victory to snap their skid.
The Macs snapped their two game skid with a big road win, defeating Purchase 66-50 in their Skyline Conference Opener on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Akiva Poppers/Macslive)
Samet’s Slump:
Even though the Macs won by a solid margin, star guard Zevi Samet continued his recent slump. Despite his 15-point performance today, he went just 1-7 from downtown and turned the ball over a season-high 5 times. Since his 34-point performance in the season opener at Mount Union, Samet has shot just 26-76 (34.2%) from the field and 10-38 (26.3%) from three-point range, a decrease from last year’s numbers of 49.2% and 38.1%, respectively. Even though Zevi has not been able to find his elite shooting so far, he must remain confident in his game, especially if the Macs want to make a conference push. Hopefully his clutch three with about seven minutes to play - his first in over 80 minutes of gameplay - can serve as a confidence booster. Fortunately for him and the Macs, there is still a lot of basketball left to play this season.
Cronin’s Impact:
Luke Cronin arguably had the most complete performance of his short YU career, scoring 9 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and adding an assist and a block. His size and strength have done wonders for the Macs on both sides of the ball, giving them another option down low. Despite being held off the scoresheet in the second half, Cronin looks poised to step up if Dothan Bardichev were to miss some time.
Play Down Low:
Despite the Macs’ struggles from beyond the arc, they found other ways to score, putting up an impressive 48 points in the paint, outscoring Purchase by a margin of 30. Multiple times throughout the game, the Macs had nice finds down low and also recorded 14 fastbreak points. However, the Macs got outscored on second chances by a margin of 11-6. If they want to win against stronger opponents, this will need improvement. Overall, the number of paint chances was a good sign for the Macs in today’s win.
For Yeshiva (4-3 Overall, 1-0 Skyline)
Max Zakheim led the Macs with 19 points while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 4 assists. Zevi Samet had 15 points and 5 rebounds on the day.
Luke Cronin scored 9 points and grabbed a season-high 8 rebounds, tying Jonathan Levy for the team high.
Jonathan Levy stood out defensively, grabbing 8 boards in 28 minutes of play, while Roy Itcovichi nabbed 7 boards.
The Macs shot 28-61 (45.9%) from the field today, however they only shot 3-20 (15%) from downtown.
For Purchase (4-4 Overall, 0-1 Skyline):
Chad Duke led the Panthers with 14 points on the day, 12 of which came in the second half.
Rashid Nikiema recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points while bringing down 11 rebounds, finishing as the only player on either team with double-digit rebounds.
Purchase outrebounded the Macs on the offensive glass by a margin of 14-6.
Purchase shot a meager 8-38 (21.1%) from the field in the first half and 10-32 (31.3%) in the second half, good for 18-70 (25.7%) on the day. They shot 7-43 (16.3%) from deep today.
Up Next:
The Macs return home on Wednesday night for their first game at the Max Stern Athletic Center in over a month, taking on the University of St. Joseph’s (CT) Bluejays (5-3 overall, 1-0 GNAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM at the Max Stern Athletic Center and right here on MacsLive.com
MacsLive:
For more Yeshiva Maccabees content, follow MacsLive on Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
#Men'sBasketball #MBBGameRecap #MensBasketball20242025