Lawrence resident Gabriel Leifer part of strong Yeshiva University basketball team

Lawrence resident Gabriel Leifer, a 6-5 senior forward on the Yeshiva University men’s basketball team, is averaging nearly 18 points and almost 13 rebounds per game as of Feb. 4 for a 18-1 Maccabee squad, which leads the Skyline Conference’s South Division with an 10-0 mark.

The Maccabees are No. 22 in the Division III Top 25 national ranking. YU earned its first-ever national ranking on Jan. 27

Leifer scored a season-high 30 points in a 80-56 victory on the Merchant Marine Academy on Jan. 25, and has scored 20 or more in four other games. No slouch under the basket, he grabbed a season-high 21 boards in the 85-75 win over Moravian College on Dec. 19.

Leifer, a graduate of Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys in Woodmere, was named conference Player of the Week ending Jan. 27. Also on the team is Sammy Mandel, a 6-foot guard also from Lawrence, who attended Hebrew academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High. The squad’s head coach is Woodmere resident Elliot Steinmetz.

The Jewish Sports Heritage Association named Leifer its 2020 Jay Fiedler Outstanding Jewish College Athlete of the Year.