MANHATTAN --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball will defend their Skyline Conference Championship as the No. 3 seed in next week's league championship after dropping in 79-64 regular-season finale Saturday evening on the road to the Yeshiva University Maccabees (15-9, 11-5 Skyline). 
 
Old Westbury (17-8, 13-3 Skyline) will host the sixth-seeded St. Joseph's College (L.I.) Golden Eagles (10-15, 9-7 Skyline) Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center.  Admission for the first-round matchup will be $5, and students with valid Old Westbury or St. Joseph's (L.I.) school ID receive free admission.

Old Westbury/St. Joseph's Head-to-Head in 2016-17
Dec. 1 (Patchogue, NY): St. Joseph's 75, Old Westbury 67 Box Score 
Feb. 6 (Old Westbury, NY): Old Westbury 87, St. Joseph's 86 Box Score

Both teams combined for seven lead changes until Michael Hayon's layup with 14:06 showing on the first-half clock ignited a 14-1 Maccabee run to give the hosts a 13-point lead (23-10) at the halfway point of the period.  Yeshiva held a double-digit lead of the final 10:17 of first-half play due in part to sharp shooting (10-of-17 3FG) and solid defensive play (10 forced turnovers).  Old Westbury's deficit grew to 26 points as the Maccabees used a 23-7 spurt from 8:11 to 3:02 to go up 48-22.  The Panthers connected of a trio of 3-pointers in the final 3:02 as part of a 10-4 run to trim Yeshiva's lead to 20 (52-32) at the break. 

Yeshiva picked up right where they left off as Dean Pienica scored seven-straight points to open the second half to extend the lead to a game-high 27 points (29-32) with 16:53 left.  Old Westbury chipped away to get the deficit below 20 for the final 9:12 as Jamail Stanley's free-throw made it a 19-point game (66-47).  Luckens Victor slammed down two of his six points on the night to cap a 14-7 Panther run that made it a 12-point game (73-61) with 2:10 remaining.  Yeshiva answered with six-unanswered points to push the lead back up to 18 before settling for the 79-64 final.

Stanley led all scorers with 16 points (8-of-11 FG) to go along with six steals (game-high), six rebounds and two blocks. Terrin Roland matched a career-high with 14 points (5-of-9 FG) in addition to adding three blocks, three steals and three assists to his statline.  Preston Powell chipped in with nine points (3-of-9 3FG) while Victor swatted two shots off the bench.

Simcha Halpert netted 13 points (3-of-7 3FG) and nabbed three steals to pace Yeshiva.  Judah Cohen (11 points), Michael Berg (10 points) and Hayon (10 points) all scored in double-figures while Berg pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.  Hayon added three blocks and Berg chimed in with two.

In the end, Old Westbury connected on 31.7 percent (20-of-63) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from 3-point range and 68 percent (17-of-25) from the free-throw line.  By comparison, Yeshiva hit on 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the floor, 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from beyond the arc and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the charity stripe.  Old Westbury won the boards battle, 41-40, scoring just five second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.  The Panthers also held the advantage in steals (13-10) and blocks (10-7) while Yeshiva scored 21 points off 21 Old Westbury turnovers.

2017 Skyline Conference Championship
No. 1 Farmingdale State (18-7 / 14-2 Skyline)
No. 2 Sage (16-9 / 12-4 Skyline)
No. 3 Old Westbury (17-8 / 13-3 Skyline)
No. 4 Purchase (16-9 / 10-6 Skyline)
No. 5 Yeshiva (15-9 / 11-5 Skyline)
No. 6 St. Joseph's-Long Island (10-15 / 9-7 Skyline)

First Round – Tuesday, February 21
Yeshiva at Purchase, 7 PM
St. Joseph's (L.I.) at Old Westbury, 7 PM

Semifinals – Thursday, February 23
St. Joseph's (L.I.)/Old Westbury winner at Sage, 7 PM
Yeshiva/Purchase winner at Farmingdale State, 7 PM

Final – Saturday, February 25 *
Semifinal winners, time TBA (at highest-remaining seed)

* - accommodations will be made for religious observances

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