Macs, Samet Dominate Bears, Earn First Home Win in Blowout

The Maccabees sought their first home win on Wednesday night as they hosted the St Joseph’s Brooklyn Bears. The Macs came into this game with a 1-2 record, winning their previous game against Webster University. The Bears entered this game with a 1-0 record, winning their first game in overtime against Medgar Evers.

Yeshiva started off the game with exquisite execution on both offense and defense, jumping out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of gameplay. Zevi Samet, the night's story, got off to a hot start as he hit his first two threes of the game. The Macs moved without the ball and made great passes the whole night. Although the Macs had a fast start, St Joseph’s Brooklyn did not back down as they fought back, cutting the deficit to three with a score of 17-14 and 13:54 to go in the half. The Bears’ lethal scorer, Jonathan Reno, was unstoppable and gave the Macs all they could handle in the first half. Reno scored 19 points in the first half and it looked like he could have a 40-point night. In the end, he only finished with 28, but Yeshiva’s Zevi Samet did drop 40. Samet was an absolute flamethrower. He scored 28 of his 40 points in the first half, also hitting seven of his 11 three-pointers. The Macs led at the half, 52-36.

Zevi Samet continued his hot start to the season finishing with 40 points and 11 threes in the win. (Photo Credits: Akiva Poppers)

In the second half, the same trend continued. The Macs continued to dominate with their stifling defense and red-hot shooting. They ended up shooting 57% from the field, and 46% from deep. Yeshiva held the Bears to 36% shooting and were all over their defenders throughout the night. They forced 19 turnovers, which led to 23 points for the Macs. Yeshiva won by 102-65, improving their record to 2-2 for the season.

Outstanding Defense:

The Macs were draped on the Bears the whole night. They forced the Bears into 19 turnovers, which led to 12 steals and 23 points for Yeshiva. The Macs hope to continue their hounding defense throughout the season.

Lights Out Shooting:

The Maccabees were on fire tonight. They shot 57% from the field and 46% from behind the arc. Zevi Samet helped the percentage a lot tonight, shooting 11/16 from downtown.

Team Work Makes the Dream Work:

The Macs moved the ball with a passion tonight, as they finished with 29 assists. Five Macs had at least four dimes tonight, and Adi Markovich led the squad with six. It was truly beautiful to watch all night.

For St. Joseph Brooklyn:

• Jonathan Reno led the Bears in points, scoring an impressive 28 on 8/18 shooting. He was keeping St Joseph’s Brooklyn in the game until the Macs were too much to handle.

• Joe Sheehan dropped 17 points on 70% shooting.

For Yeshiva:

• Zevi Samet was basically Stephen Curry on the floor tonight. He was absolutely lethal. Samet had 40 points on 14/21 shooting, including 11 three-pointers. He was easily the best player in the game.

• Roy Itcovichi did a fantastic job at moving without the ball, finishing with 16 points on 7-8 shooting.

• Adi Markovich was a floor general. He was finding all the cutters and shooters all night. Markovich ended up with only five points but had six assists.

Up Next:

Yeshiva will host Farmingdale State College this Saturday night at 8:30 PM in the MSAC. Stay tuned to MacsLive on social media for details regarding that game.

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