NEW YORK, N.Y. - BJ Sanders (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored a career-high 25 points, but it wasn't enough as the Sarah Lawrence College men's basketball team opened Skyline play Tuesday with a 91-81 loss at Yeshiva at Max Stern Center.
IN SHORT
Yeshiva (2-1, 1-0) def. Sarah Lawrence (0-3, 0-1), 91-81.
RECAP
The Gryphons scored the first seven points of the evening, keyed by a layup and an assist from Malin Segal (Wenham, Mass./Concord Academy) and a pair of forced turnovers. Yeshiva cut the deficit to one with back-to-back three-pointers (7-6). Sarah Lawrence pushed its lead back to four with free throws from Austin Jones (Upper Marlboro, Md./Flint Hill School) and a triple from Segal (11-6).
The two teams continued to trade baskets in a fast-paced opening period, but the Gryphons maintained their advantage, building up a 38-29 lead. Yeshiva finished the first half on a 11-2 run, sending the two teams into the locker room tied at 40.
Sanders was the catalyst to the Gryphons' offensive success in the first half, scoring 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Sarah Lawrence put forth a strong defensive effort in the opening frame, forcing 16 turnovers. The Gryphons recorded nine steals, including four from Segal.
The two squads traded the lead to begin the second half. Tied at 49, Yeshiva pulled away, outscoring Sarah Lawrence 42-32, keyed by its three-point shooting, as the Maccabees shot 83-percent from behind the arc in the final period.
TOP GRYPHON PERFORMANCES
After scoring a career-high 19 points in the team's season debut at Amherst, Sanders finished with a game-high 25 points. He also recorded a team-best eight rebounds.
A total of four Gryphons finished in double-figures. Including Sanders, Jones reached double-figures for a third consecutive game with 15 points, while first-years Enike Anyia (Los Angeles, Calif./Wilbraham & Monson Academy) (13) and Isaiah Pean (Spring Valley, N.Y./Dwight-Englewood) (10) each produced double-digit point outings.
UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence heads out west to Colorado to compete at the 2017 Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24-25.
