New York, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team fell for the third times in its last four outings on Tuesday following an 82-66 road conference loss at Yeshiva. Senior Andrew Holmes (Niskayuna, N.Y.) paced the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with 13 points.
 
The Knights got off to a quick start on Tuesday, racing out to a 6-2 lead on a Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) three-pointer just 97 seconds into the contest. After The Maccabees rallied to tie the score at 6-6 and 8-8, the two teams traded the lead three times with the final lead change coming on a Simcha Halpert triple that pushed Yeshiva in front 15-12.
 
The Halpert three-pointer was part of a 22-7 run that saw Yeshiva surge in front 34-19 on a Bar Alluf dunk with just under five minutes left in the opening stanza. Alluf scored seven points over the run for the Macs, while the Mount was held to just two fields goals, a three-pointer and lay-in from Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.).
 
Trailing by 15 points, the Mount whittled the disadvantage down to 38-34 at the break following a 15-4 run to close the half. Triples from Nocera and Connor Bacci (Bayside, N.Y.) and a three-point play from Holmes sparked the run that brought the Knights to within four points after 20 minutes.
 
The Knights shot better than 45-percent over the first half, including a 5-for-11 effort from three-point range to go along with a perfect 7-for-7 showing from the free-throw line. Yeshiva converted at just under 52-percent and knocked in four triples in the first half. Alluf led all scorers with 11 points at the break, with Nocera pacing the Knights with 10.
 
The Mount got its disadvantage down to a single point twice early in the second half and stayed within five points, until a Halpert triple pushed Yeshiva in front 50-44 with 15:23 left in regulation. The Knights got back to within two points on a Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) conversion and got to within one point on three more occasions, but could never get even with the Macs.
 
Following a Francis lay-in with 10:55 left to play that brought Mount Saint Mary to within 57-56, Yeshiva used a 12-4 stretch to build a 69-60 lead with 8:32 left in the contest. The deficit grew to 12 points on a Tal Gweta three-pointer with 4:28 left and ballooned to a game-high 16 points on a Halpert jumper with under two minutes left and an Alluf free-throw that gave the Maccabees the final 82-66 edge.
 
Mount Saint Mary cooled to 33-percent shooting in the second half, while Yeshiva improved to a 56-percent conversion rate, including a red-hot 7-for-13 effort from three-point range. Gabriel Leifer erupted for 17 second half points to lead Yeshiva.
 
Holmes reached double-figures for the second straight game for the Knights on the strength of a 7-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Nocera rounded out the evening with 10 points, adding five rebounds and three assists.
 
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Bacci each finished with nine points for the Mount with Wolff leading the team with six rebounds. McDine rounded out the night with seven points and five assists, with Francis and Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) each netting eight points.
 
Yeshiva received a game-high 23 points from Leifer who added seven rebounds and three assists. Alluf chipped in with 19 points, with Gweta and Halpert recording 14 and 12. Halper finished a double-double effort with a game-high 10 rebounds and was one of three Yeshiva players with four assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary closed the game shooting 38.9-percent and went 7-for-27 from three-point range. Yeshiva shot an efficient 53.7-percent for the game and 44-percent from bonus distance.
 
Tuesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 8-11 overall on the season and to 8-6 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Knights is a trip to Farmingdale State on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off with the Rams is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.