Volume 67, Issue 7

After Dropping Home Opener, Macs Face Uphill Climb
by David Epstein and Avi Mermelstein

Sitting at 1-3 after splitting its first two Skyline Conference games, Yeshiva basketball seems set for a long season of growing pains, despite the efforts of its star and captain, senior Eli Hami.

After opening the ‘02-‘03 season with two losses at the Emmanuel Tournament in Boston, the young Maccabees returned home November 26 to face the Manhattanville Valiants, the team that knocked them out of last year’s Skyline Conference tournament. A sparse crowd of about 200 Macs supporters dotted the bleachers of the Max Stern Athletic Center on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but it was the 30 to 40 Manhattanville fans who provided the early noise, as the Macs got off to a slow start.  After a Shmuel Pilossof three-pointer tied the game at 3, Manhattanville ripped off a 9-0 run to prompt a mass substitution with 13:32 left in the first half.  Coach Jonathan Halpert benched starters Hami, Shai Musberg, and Arik Lifshitz in favor of Yishai Pliner, Jonathan Rotenberg, and Benji Hoffer.

The changes gave the team the spark it needed, as Yeshiva began to play tougher defense down low.  Hami returned after only two minutes, and Coach Halpert slowly reintegrated the other starters back into the lineup.  With 9 minutes left the Macs had cut the deficit to 11-10; a minute later they took a 13-12 lead on a Rotenberg three-pointer.  The score remained close through the end of the half where Manhattanville led 23-22.

The Valiants, after going down 24-23, went on another 9-0 run to start the half.  The Macs seemed out of sync on offense and overpowered on defense.  Even the scoreboard operator seemed asleep at times, sometimes forgetting to start the clock and sometimes slow to add points, especially on the Manhattanville side.

The Manhattanville lead grew to as much as 11, but was cut to 53-49 with 3:20 left.  Moments later, a Hami driving layup made it 53-51.  For the first time all night, the crowd awoke and filled the air with loud chants of “Defense.”

But that was as close as the Macs came.  Valiant forward John Danielski, who scored a game-high 23 points, was fouled by Hami on a three-pointer, on what the crowd deemed a questionable call.  With 2:26 left, Danielski hit two of three from the line, extending the lead to four.  Following a Hami miss, Manhattanville point guard Joe Donato split two defenders and dished down low to Steve Shevlin for the open layup.  Yeshiva’s next possession ended with a Hami turnover.  A Danielski three-pointer increased the lead to nine, effectively sealing the game.  A Hami three-point play on an acrobatic layup was not enough, as the Valiants hit enough free throws in the waning seconds to protect their lead, winning by a final of 64-56.

After the game, Coach Halpert praised his team’s defensive effort.  “For the overall amount of height we give away, the kids did a terrific job,” he said.  Despite their height disadvantage, the Macs lost the rebounding battle by only 29-25.

According to the coach, the size advantage told most on the offensive end.  “Offense is about the ability to execute, to get to the spot, to make picks,” said Halpert.  Here what he called the “physical disparity” became a factor.  As the coach explained, “You can compensate by being smart and boxing out on the boards.”  But, the inability to screen the Valiants’ bigger players, which is more difficult to compensate for, hurt the Macs’ offensively said the coach.

A failure to execute plays also hurt the offensive output and forced Halpert to stand for long stretches of the game and lend the players his vocal assistance.  “Most of them know all the plays, some don’t know all the plays,” said Halpert.  He quickly pointed out that some players know the plays, “but still don’t execute.”

The team’s failure to execute plays limited Hami’s open looks.  He scored only 2 first-half points, and dropped in 18 in the second-half more through individual brilliance than from the help of his teammates.  He finished with 20 points, had 6 assists, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals, all team highs.  It was another testament to the team’s lack of size, that Hami, a guard, was the featured weapon in the post, as well as the team’s leading rebounder.

The next game saw the 0-3 Macs take on the 0-4 Stevens Tech Ducks in what was an early must-win game for both teams.  The Macs’ first-half performance followed the pattern of the last game: Hami scored at will, but the score was tied at halftime.

Coach Halpert, responding to a question on his team’s first-half performance at halftime said, “There were no ups, all downs – we stunk.”

Halpert must have lit into his team in the locker room as the Macs played an inspired second half, routing the Ducks by 18.  Hami was spectacular, this time with help from his teammates, who screened well and worked hard to get him open shots.  He finished with 31 points, bringing his average well above 20 points per game in the 71-53 victory.

Despite the win, Yeshiva still faces serious obstacles in the coming games.  Besides the problems with the offensive execution and the overall lack of size, the team lacks experienced players.  Apart from graduated all-time leading scorer Yossy Gev and star point guard Jack Yulzary, the team misses injured star forward Alex Lapidus, who may return before the end of January.  When healthy, Lapidus adds size and athleticism to a team sorely in need of both.  “No question, it’s a tremendous loss not having Alex,” admits Coach Halpert.

While the absence of Lapidus has hurt, it has also given the younger players an opportunity to step forward.  So far, Coach Halpert has used more than his usual eight-man rotation in an effort to get a feel for his players.  Musberg, Pliner, and Adam Missry have all been very solid splitting the point guard duties.  Junior forward Rafi Halpert has been solid if unspectacular while leading the Macs in playing time.  Freshmen Josh Gottlieb and Jonathan Rotenberg have been surprises off the bench displaying nice outside touches.

Though the Macs will struggle this season to remain at .500, fans at the MSAC will watch for the emergence of new stars among the developing players.  At the same time, they will see one of the most polished and exciting stars of the league in Captain Hami.♦

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