BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's basketball team fell to the Yeshiva Maccabees by a score of 64-72 on Wednesday night, the latest in a stretch of thrilling matchups between the two teams. The Gryphons took a five-point lead into the intermission before a strong second-half surge propelled the visitors to the victory.
Notable Performers
- Eamon Kelly posted a team-high 15 points along with four assists
- Christopher Dougherty pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds along with seven points and three blocks
- Thomas Matonti scored an efficient 14 points, including three of his six attempts from distance
How it Happened
The Gryphons got going early, with a
Dean Furlong dunk leading the charge before
Braden Burman and Kelly gave the team a 6-2 lead, forcing an early timeout. After a miss by SLC and a score in response from Yeshiva, Kelly connected on the first of his three triples on the night, putting the Gryphons up by two possessions. The teams traded scores as a Zevi Samet triple closed the gap to just two points, but a second-chance bucket from
Andrew Kim and another Kelly triple put the Gryphons up by seven with 15 minutes to play in the first half. Yeshiva got a point back at the line, but Dougherty found
John Kairouz on a backdoor look and the Gryphons went up by eight. Roy Itcovichi went on an 8-2 run for YU to close the gap to three, before Samet converted twice and the Maccabees took their first lead of the game, 22-21, with nine minutes remaining. Kim responded on the ensuing SLC possession before Dougherty and
Aiden Morel each got to the line to extend the lead to four points. The back-and-forth continued as another YU triple closed the gap, and a putback by Samet once again swung the lead to the visitors. The Gryphons answered without hesitation, this time with Dougherty finding Burman for an inside score before back-to-back triples by Matonti off assists from Kelly. An inside conversion by Yeshiva answered the surge, but a Dougherty dunk a minute later restored energy to the SLC bench, putting them up 36-29 with two minutes remaining in the half. Four straight YU points cut the lead to three, but a last-second score from Kelly after grabbing an offensive board put the hosts up 38-33 at the intermission, carrying a two-possession lead into the second half.
The second half started with a Dougherty score, but that would be the only SLC score for nearly four minutes. The Maccabees used that drought to jump ahead, embarking on a 10-0 run after the big man's bucket and claiming a three-point lead with 16:30 remaining. Kelly stepped up to answer with another triple, but reigning player of the year Samet answered in turn, keeping the Maccabees ahead. Three more YU points extended the lead to two possessions, and with 15 minutes remaining, the Gryphons trailed 43-49. Once again, Kelly would answer the call, converting inside to stop the run. Matonti joined in on the ensuing possession, but the Maccabees had an answer. After four points at the line from Dougherty and Burman, the teams found themselves tied at 51 with 11 minutes remaining, becoming the latest thrilling matchup between the two schools. A second-chance score by the visitors allowed them to regain the lead momentarily, but another triple from Matonti put the hosts ahead with just over nine minutes to play. After both teams went scoreless for over a minute, the sophomore struck again, this time with a foot on the three-point line to put SLC up by three. After another scoreless minute and change, the Maccabees got going offensively, with a three-point play tying the game and an ensuing score giving them a lead. The next SLC possession saw that lead disappear, with Kim taking a pass from Burman and once again returning the score to a stalemate. After trading scores for a few possessions, the Maccabees emerged as the owners of a three-point lead with over two minutes remaining. A YU block turned into a layup on the other end to extend the lead, and an ensuing score with 34 seconds left put the visitors up by seven. Burman stepped up for the Gryphons, connecting from distance with 24 seconds left and closing the gap to four points. Samet would close the game out with four free throws as the Maccabees escaped with a conference victory.
Up Next
The Gryphons (5-7, Skyline 2-1) will return to action on Saturday, January 10th as they head to Manhattanville for a 1:00 p.m. matchup with the Valiants. The team will then return to the Campbell Sports Center for a Wednesday-night matchup against Mount Saint Mary College on January 14th at 6:00 p.m.
