On a night when Ryan Turell became YU’s all-time points leader, the Macs used a strong first half to propel themselves to an 82-66 win against the United States Merchant Marine Mariners. Turell led the way with 31 points and played for 40 minutes. The Mariners were led by Isaac Vencel, who scored an efficient 17 points in 24 minutes on 8-10 from the field. Vencel’s effort was not enough for the Mariners to overcome the Macs’ early push, which put them ahead 19-5 eight minutes into the game. Despite some perseverent Mariners runs in the second half, YU held on for the victory, staying perfect in conference play and moving to 17-1 on the season.
How it Happened:
Turell made a jumper to give the Macs a 2-0 lead
Eitan Halpert connected on a triple to give the Macs a 10-2 lead and force a Mariners timeout.
Jordan Armstrong’s layup at 12:04 put YU ahead 19-5.
Turell threw down a dunk off an assist from Gabe Leifer to push the lead to 28-9 with 8:04 remaining in the half.
Vencel and Bryce Bristow led USMMA on an 11-4 run, cutting the Yeshiva lead to 14 with just over two minutes to go in the half.
The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, and YU went to the locker rooms with a commanding 42-24 lead.
After hitting a three-pointer in the last minute of the first half, Kody Robinson got the scoring started for USMMA with another trey in the first minute of the second half.
USMMA started the second half with an 11-3 run, cutting YU’s lead to ten with 16:40 remaining.
At the 16:18 mark, Turell hit a three which gave him 21 points on the night and earned him point number 1,872 in his YU career, surpassing Yossy Gev’s record.
Turell’s three was part of a 15-9 Yeshiva run which put them up 60-44 with 12:13 to go.
The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, as the Mariners struggled to connect from three, going 3-12 down the stretch. Turell closed the scoring with 30 seconds remaining, scoring his 31st point on a layup.
Strong first half:
Typically we have seen the Macs start games a little sloppy, but tonight the Macs made sure that was not the case. They pushed the lead to as much as 20 and took an 18 point lead into the half. This was crucial for the Macs as USMMA made few runs in the second half. Having the lead allowed Yeshiva to survive those runs and come out with a lead each time, eventually winning by a comfortable margin.
Aggressive offense:
The Macs offense is often described as smooth and flowing. Tonight the Macs showed that they can play a tough and physical brand of offense. The Macs got to the free throw line 23 times and scored an impressive 40 points in the paint. Playing a more physical brand of offense will give the Macs an even more versatile attack which will benefit them as they look to make a big run in both the Skyline playoffs and the NCAA tournament.
For Merchant Marine (10-8, 7-3):
Isaac Vencel led USMMA with 17 points.
Kody Robinson had 14 points, including three three-pointers.
The undersized Mariners rebounded by committee, with Bryce Bristow and Josh Kauffman leading the way with nine and eight boards respectively.
For Yeshiva (17-1, 10-0):
Ryan Turell led the Macs with 31 points on 12-23 shooting.
Gabe Leifer had a double-double, with 10 points and 13 boards.
Ethan Lasko had a nice game, with 11 points and six assists in 29 minutes.
Up Next:
The Macs will go on the road to face Sarah Lawrence on Thursday, February 3. Tip off is at 8 pm and you can watch the game here.
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