Junior forward Joseph Ayodele (Tempe, Ariz.) provided a huge lift off the bench for Stevens (11-4, 5-2 Skyline Conference) as he finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Ayodele was 5-for-7 from the floor in the game and knocked down all three of his free-throw attempts. Junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) added nine points, eight rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Yeshiva (8-5, 2-3) was led by Shuki Merlis, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Merlis shot 8-for-14 from the field. Michael Pollack chipped in with 10 points.
Trailing 22-19 at the half, Stevens tied the game as Farid drained a three-pointer with 21 seconds elapsed in the second period. The Maccabees responded by scoring nine straight points in the span of 3:25 to grab a 31-22 advantage. Merlis scored all nine points for Yeshiva in the run.
Down by five with just over six minutes remaining, the Ducks worked their way back into the game and tied the score at 44-all on a jumper by Ayodele with 4:42 to play. Stevens took the lead for good on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Anthony Passalacqua (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 3:58 remaining.
Leading by one with three minutes left on the clock, the Ducks extended their margin to four points (50-46) on a three-point play by Ayodele. Harel Vatavu made one of two free throws with 1:26 to go as Yeshiva closed to within three points. Gray answered right back with a jumper to extend the lead to 52-47 with 73 seconds remaining. Two free throws by Ian Ribald brought the Maccabees within three points with just under a minute to play.
On the ensuing Ducks’ possession, David Schaulewicz came up with a huge steal with 17 seconds to go. Following a timeout, Yeshiva had one final chance to tie the game, but Pollack missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Passalacqua went one of two at the line to seal the victory.
Despite only shooting 31.1 percent (19-for-61) from the field and 10.5 percent (2-for-19) from behind the arc, Stevens was able to pull out the win with a strong defensive effort that forced 22 turnovers by the Maccabees. As a result, the Ducks attempted 22 more field goals in the game. Yeshiva shot 16-for-39 (41.0 percent) from the floor overall.
Coming up on Monday, Stevens will travel to Hunter College for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.