Yeshiva U. men’s basketball team qualifies for NCAA Division III tournament
NCAA Division IIIYeshiva Univ. men's basketball team qualifies for tournament

Yeshiva U. men’s basketball team qualifies for NCAA Division III tournament

The team, which has a record of 18-10, will be competing in the opening round next weekend.

Sophomore Gabriel Leiter of the Yeshiva University Maccabees takes on a player from Purchase College during the team’s championship victory on Feb. 25, 2018, which earned an automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament. (Photo courtesy of Yeshiva University)
Sophomore Gabriel Leiter of the Yeshiva University Maccabees takes on a player from Purchase College during the team’s championship victory on Feb. 25, 2018, which earned an automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament. (Photo courtesy of Yeshiva University)

The Yeshiva University men’s basketball team has earned its first berth in the NCAA Division III basketball tournament.

On Sunday, the Maccabees defeated Purchase College, 87-81, in Purchase, N.Y., to win the Skyline Conference championship and earn an automatic berth into the national tournament.

“There is nothing much to say. We are champs,” head coach Elliot Steinmetz said in an interview posted on the Maccabees’ website. “These kids worked hard, stayed the course through everything all season, and now we are champs forever. What a moment!”

Athletic director Joe Bednarsh said that people from all over the world have been following the team and its run to the championship. Yeshiva is the flagship university of Modern Orthodox Judaism.

“People have been reaching out to me about this team from Thailand, South Africa, Argentina, Israel, England and more,” Bednarsh said. “The Maccabees are truly the pride of the Jewish people.”

Y.U., which has a record of 18-10, will be competing in the opening round next weekend.

The Maccabees defeated the regular season conference champion, Farmingdale State, in overtime in the semifinals. PJC

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