Albany, NY-- The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team hosted Yeshiva University on Wednesday evening in the Kahl Gym in a Skyline Conference contest. The Gators needed overtime, but triumphed 75-73 over the Maccabees. The win puts Sage at 11-11 overall and 6-9 in the Skyline Conference, while Yeshiva drops to 8-13 overall and 5-10 in the league.
Sage held a 38-31 lead at the break, but the Maccabees had a strong second half and forced overtime with the two teams knotted at 66-66.
In the final seconds of the overtime period, senior center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) connected on a lay-up from junior guard Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) to put the Gators up 75-73. Yeshiva's junior guard Benjy Ritholtz (West Hempstead, NY/Hebrew Academy of Nassau) had a his three-point basket at the buzzer go off the mark to end the game with the Gators on top.
Among the many highlights of the evening was the 1,000th career point scored by Yeshiva's senior forward Gil Bash (Tel Aviv, Israel/Alliance). Bash became the 26th player in YU men's basketball history to reach the feat. Also, he also became the second player on this year's squad this season to reach the milestone; as senior forward Dovie Hoffman (Tarzana, CA/Valley Torah) achieved the feat at Lehman College, on December 18, 2012. Bash finished with 15 points and now has 1,014 career points.
For the Gators, senior forward Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY/Northeastern Clinton) connected for 24 points after making 10-of-12 from the free throw line, including the pair of free throws to send it to overtime. Junior guard Mason Horne (Albany, NY/LaSalle Institute) added 20 points before fouling out, while Sager finished with another double-double, his eighth of the year on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Yeshiva's Ritholtz had 17 points, while junior Shlomo Weissberg (Skokie, IL/Ida Crown Jewish Academy) connected for a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Dovie Hoffman (Tarzana, CA/Valley Torah) added 10 points, while rookie Yosef Rosenthal (West Hempstead, NY/Rambam Mestiva) added 13 points.
Sage returns to action on Saturday, February 9 when they travel to St. Joseph's College (LI) for a 5:15 p.m. Skyline Conference contest. Next up for Yeshiva is a home contest against CCNY on February 9 at 8:30 p.m.
