On The Road With The Macs

As a group of Yeshiva men waited in a light drizzle for a long overdue bus, I began to write this article in my head. I was going to say how miserable and feeble of an attempt this was to get students to attend an off campus sporting event. To compound our long wait for transportation, the driver decided to get lost for fifteen minutes before dropping us off at our destination, Purchase College.

Once we entered the dimly lit, yet still obviously beautiful campus, we had to drive for an additional mile to reach the sports complex. By the time we finally got into the gym, the Lady Macs' game was at halftime and Purchase led 64 to 33 (no, that score is not a typo). This was certainly the nadir of the whole night; luckily, things could only get better.

Beginning with the second half of the girls' game, the night did in fact begin its ascent to reaching an enjoyable status. Right out of the gates, the girls battled and impressed the modestly sized but sufficiently loud Yeshiva fans. They accomplished this by hustling, scraping, and diving for every ball; playing as if the contest was still winnable. After equaling the Purchase Panthers in second half with points at 36, the crowd was eager to watch the Yeshiva University Macs play the Purchase College Panthers.

It was a shade before nine when the men's game finally tipped off. The late hour did not seem to phase the Macs' faithful who made the trip, as they cheered and chanted from wire to wire. The fans were not to be let down, as the score swung back and forth throughout the first half of the contest. The second half was no different. As the clock wound down the crowd, which had shrunk considerably, did its best to help the Macs down the stretch; chanting "defense" and "let's go Macs" amongst other cheers.

With the Macs up by three and less than one minute to play, a win seemed likely. However, the Macs allowed the Panthers to tie the score with less then twenty seconds left. As the two opposing coaches called timeouts, the crowd grew antsy. Inbounding on the far baseline, Zach Gordon was able, albeit barely, to get the ball in play before the referee called a five second violation. Still, the play appeared dead, and the game destined for overtime.

However, miraculously, Alex Claster was able to hoist a jumper and get fouled on the release as time expired. While the shot missed, Alex needed to connect on just one of the free throws to complete the thrilling win. As the crowd waited with baited breath, Alex calmly sank the first free throw and stared at the Purchase fans, sending the team and the Macs' cheering section into a frenzy.

On the quiet bus ride home I crossed out what I had planned to write and instead wrote just once sentence. A night that started perfectly miserably ended simply perfect.