By David Jones for Urban Media Today
Atlanta, GA. — The Orthodox Jewish community came from all over the country to support the private university that was making their first ever Sweet 16 appearance. And for a few minutes in the second half, it looked like they might actually have something to celebrate.
They didn’t. But Zevi Samet made sure they had something to remember. The Yeshiva all-time leading scorer dropped 43 points in his final game as a Maccabee. By tip-off, the YU crowd had outnumbered the home fans. The energy in the Woodruff PE Center was incredible as the upset bid, for one brief stretch, felt real.
Then Emory remembered who they were.
The No. 2 Eagles pulled away for a 101-80 win in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 on Friday afternoon, advancing to the Elite Eight for the second straight year and running their winning streak to 11 games. Five players finished in double figures. The century mark fell for the fourth time this season. It was, in every sense, a complete performance from a program that does not do sloppy.
Yeshiva cut the lead to 68-64 late in the game and the crowd erupted. For a moment, the script looked like it might flip. It didn’t. Emory answered, pushed the lead back out, and that was the ballgame.
On the other end of the floor, Samet was doing everything in his power. He holds the single-game scoring record for Yeshiva at 52 points. He’s the program’s all-time leading scorer. Forty-three points against the second-ranked team in the country, on the road, in a tournament game had fans marveling at his ability to score at will.
For Emory, Jason Zimmerman keeps building. Senior guards Ben Pearce and Jair Knight run the show, junior forward Ethan Fauss cleans everything up at 6-9, and the rotation goes ten deep which is important when attempting to make a run to the championship.
The Eagles are 25-3 and headed back to the Elite Eight with a chip on their shoulder from last year’s exit. They play again Thursday, March 21.
