The Yeshiva College Maccabees ended their NCAA championship run on Friday with a Candy 16 loss to the Emory College Eagles.
The 101-80 loss to a higher-seeded crew got here amid the “electrical ambiance” that followers of the Orthodox flagship had promised, with star Zevi Samet placing up 43 factors in his final recreation with the Maccabees and followers from close to and much outnumbering the house crowd in Atlanta.
Movies posted by Maccabees Reside confirmed Y.U. followers cheering Samet, the crew’s all-time high scorer and the holder of the file for many factors scored in a single recreation, with 52.
In a postgame press convention, Samet was requested about his best accomplishment throughout his 4 years at Y.U.
“I believe that’s a simple query,” he answered. “Attending to spend Shabbat collectively, Shabbos with all the fellows, attending to spend minyan collectively daily after observe … The basketball half is enjoyable, however on the finish of the day, we’re right here on this world for an even bigger function. And I believe friendship is likely one of the strongest issues. And proven fact that I’ve been capable of construct superior friendships might be my largest accomplishment.”
Coach Elliot Steinmetz, who has constructed the Y.U. program over greater than a decade, mentioned that although a number of of the Maccabees’ strongest gamers had been graduating, he anticipated extra success forward for his crew.
Simply because it was the primary time the Maccabees had been enjoying within the Candy 16 of the NCAA Division III event (after having a recreation canceled by the pandemic in 2020), he mentioned, doesn’t imply the crew is resting on its laurels.
“I’m most likely pleased with the truth that these guys are sitting right here upset that they misplaced versus simply glad that they had been right here,” Steinmetz mentioned.
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