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Sarah Lawrence College Athletics

The Official Athletics Website of Sarah Lawrence College
Eamon Kelly MBB 2024-25
Jalen Smiley - @behindtheye on Instagram
66
Winner Sarah Lawrence SLC 7-5,3-0 Skyline
65
Yeshiva YU 5-7,2-1 Skyline
Winner
Sarah Lawrence SLC
7-5,3-0 Skyline
66
Final
65
Yeshiva YU
5-7,2-1 Skyline
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Sarah Lawrence SLC 26 40 66
Yeshiva YU 29 36 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Zach Perbeck

Kelly Strikes from Way Downtown for Buzzer-Beating Triple Against Maccabees

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Sarah Lawrence junior Eamon Kelly hit the bottom of the net from long range as the final buzzer rang out in the Max Stern Athletic Center and the New Orleans product sent the Gryphons home with a 66-65 victory over Yeshiva University. The Gryphons now sit at 7-5 overall on the season after handing the Maccabees their first conference loss of the 2024-25 campaign.

Notable Performers
  • Kelly scored 13 points, including his game-winning triple, and grabbed seven rebounds in the win
  • Andrew Kim led the Gryphons with 18 points, connecting on three of his five shots from deep
  • Braden Burman scored 14 points while grabbing five offensive rebounds for SLC
 

How it Happened

The Gryphons used strong three-point shooting to stick with the Maccabees early, getting makes from Burman and Kim within the first three minutes as the teams refused to separate. The Maccabees would hold small advantages, but the Gryphons always had an answer, tying the game up at 6, 8, 10 and 14 points. After nearly two minutes of scoreless basketball following the 14-14 stalemate, another triple by Burman would give the Gryphons their first lead of the day, a three-point advantage with 9:28 remaining in the half. The lead would be short-lived, with the Maccabees getting a Yoav Oselka putback on the next possession and a triple of their own a minute later to regain a two-point advantage. SLC's Chris Dougherty would even the game up at 19 after empty possessions by both sides, scoring unassisted in the paint for his second score of the game. Kim would take his turn next, scoring the next seven points for the Gryphons, which would end up being their only seven points in the final seven minutes. The Gryphons defense stepped up as well, holding the Maccabees to just 10 points in the final seven minutes of play, with a Max Zakeim three-pointer giving the hosts a lead with 1:27 left and a single made free throw by standout all-conference guard Zevi Samet extending the lead to 29-16 heading into the half. Samet, the reigning Skyline Player of the Week, was held in check throughout the first 20 minutes, scoring just five points after averaging north of 20 per game over the past two seasons.

The Gryphons emerged from the halftime intermission rolling offensively, with Kim, Dougherty and Dean Furlong leading the charge early. Kim got to the line to open the scoring in the period before Furlong found Dougherty for a score in the paint that gave SLC the lead. After a miss from deep by the Maccabees, Furlong would score on his own, extending the SLSC lead to three points. After a score by Samet and a single made free throw by Furlong, the junior from Malibu would once again find Dougherty, this time extending the SLC lead to four. The Gryphons would maintain a small advantage until the 14-minute mark when Kelly found sophomore Aiden Morel for a long-range strike, extending the SLC lead to eight points. After going back-and-forth, Kim and Furlong would re-enter the game with 9:45 remaining, hoping to extend the team's 46-38 lead. The sophomore guard would do just that, connecting from deep on back-to-back SLC possessions to give the Gryphons a 52-38 advantage, threatening to run away with the victory. After a pair of YU free throws, Kelly would connect on his first triple of the game, one that paled in comparison to what was yet to come, but gave SLC its largest lead of the night by a tally of 55-40. The Maccabees would not go down without a fight, embarking on a 10-1 run over the course of the next two minutes to reduce the once comfortable lead to a mere two possessions. A pair of Lemar Fulmore Jr. free throws would briefly stop the run, but a four-point play by Samet would highlight a six-point run by the hosts in response, making it a one-score game with 4:23 remaining. A single Dougherty free throw would be the next score, giving SLC a three-point advantage, but Samet would respond once again for the Maccabees on the ensuing YU possession. The junior hit again from deep, this time to tie the contest with under three minutes to play and fully erasing SLC's 15-point advantage. After a YU timeout, the Gryphons would go to work with the game on the line, looking to Burman who made a beautiful turnaround jumper, returning the lead to the Gryphons momentarily. The Maccabees took the ball down the court again, this time going inside to Oselka who tied the game up at 61. 

With under two to play, the Gryphons looked to Kim, who had the hot hand earlier in the half, but the sophomore could not get a fadeaway jumper to fall. Burman put himself in the right place at the right time for the offensive board and after resetting, got fouled shooting from long range and found himself heading to the line for three shots. The junior converted on his final two attempts, once again giving the Gryphons a two-point advantage. After misses on both ends, Samet got rolling in transition, drawing a foul and converting on both of his attempts from the line to tie the game at 63 with under a minute to play. A pair of missed SLC shots gave the Maccabees the ball back with 32 seconds and an opportunity to play for the last shot. The team again went to Samet, who pulled up for a shot with just under ten seconds remaining, hitting the front of the rim but collecting his own miss and getting fouled for a chance to take the lead with just 7.5 seconds remaining on the clock. Samet knocked down both of his shots from the line, forcing the Gryphons to go the length of the court with under eight seconds left to send the game to overtime or go for the win. After dealing with the Maccabees' full-court pressure, the Gryphons opted for a timeout with 2.8 seconds and a chance to draw up the game-tying or game-winning play. Kelly took the ball out of bounds, inbounding to Kim before flaring out to receive a pass from the sophomore and shooting from 35+ feet as the final buzzer rang through the Max Stern Athletic Center… hitting nothing but the net for the win.

Up Next

The Gryphons (7-5, Skyline 3-0) will return to the Campbell Sports Center on Saturday, January 11th for a matchup with the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent. The teams split the season series last year, both earning road victories.