NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (1-6, 1-2 Skyline) dropped a Skyline Conference matchup to a hot-shooting Yeshiva University (7-3, 5-1 Skyline) by a score of 89-79 Wednesday evening at the Kaplan Center.
The Maccabees shot 62.5 percent (35-of-56) for the game, including an efficient 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) in the second half to outscore the Knights in Wednesday's barn-burner. They were led by Shelby Rosenberg, who shot 12-of-17 to reach 27 points on the evening. He also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. Four other Maccabees scored in double-digits in Wednesday's conference tilt.
The Knights had control for much of the first half, leading 28-21 with 7:02 left in the opening frame. A 10-0 run across the next four minutes put the Maccabees up by three, a lead they improved to seven points on a buzzer-beating trey by Benjy Ritholtz to close out the half.
The Knights hung tight with the Maccabees early in the second stanza, but they were unable to get the big stop when they desperately needed it to close the gap. After trailing by as many as 11, layups by freshman forward
Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) and junior guard
Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.), followed by a three by Steyer cut the deficit to just four points with 5:10 to play. Despite the momentum shift, the Knights could not get within one score, and Yeshiva took control of the game and pushed its lead to 12. The Macs made all but one free throw down the stretch to hold the Knights off for a 10-point win.
Nocera led the Knights with a season-high 21 points on the evening. He also added six boards and three steals. Steyer just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward
Alex Smith (Marlboro, N.Y.) matched Steyer with 15 points and led the Knights with seven assists.
The Knights were no slackers from the field on Wednesday, succeeding on 33-of-66 (50 percent) of their shots. They were also good on 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) attempts from long range. Both teams played evenly with 30 rebounds apiece. Yeshiva scored 58 of its points in the paint, while the Knights tallied 40.
Currently riding a three-game losing streak, the Knights hit the road on Saturday, Dec. 13, to take on Rowan University. Tip-off in Glassboro, N.J. is slated for 2 p.m.
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