ST. MARY'S CITY, MD – Sophomore David Giuliani sank a free throw with 1.2 seconds left to give the York College men's basketball squad a heart-pounding 73-72 win at St. Mary's College on Saturday afternoon in Capital Athletic Conference play. The Spartans have won a season-high six straight including two in a row in which they made free throws inside of two seconds to win the game.
Game #23
Final Score: York (Pa.) 73, St. Mary's 72
Records: York 17-6 (10-2 CAC), St. Mary's 8-15 (2-10 CAC)
Field Goals: York 24-for-59, SMC 30-of-61
Field Goal %: York 40.7%, SMC 49.2%
Three Point FG: York 9-for-37, SMC 8-of-20
Three Point FG %: York 24.3%, SMC 40%
Free Throws: York 16-of-22, SMC 4-for-6
Free Throw %: York 72.7%, SMC 66.7%
Rebounds: York 33, SMC 38
Assists: York 14, SMC 10
Turnovers: York 12, SMC 14
Blocked Shots: York 4, SMC 1
Steals: York 9, SMC 7
How It Happened
• The first half mirrored the first meeting in York as the two squads went back-and-forth early on. The Seahawks took an early five-point lead but York would quickly respond. York gained some momentum as they pushed out to a 15-9 lead with 12:03 left in the half. The Seahawks would eventually tie the game at 19 with 8:39 left in the half. The Spartans scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the half at 26-19. The Seahawks outscored York 18-7 over the next seven minutes as St. Mary's led 37-33. The Spartans got a Jason Bady lay-up off an inbounds play at the horn to cut their deficit to two at the half.
• St. Mary's increased their lead to 41-38 two minutes into the second half but the Spartans answered with a 14-2 run as York's lead was nine with 16:08 left in the half. The Spartans then, much like they have in a number of recent games, went cold from the floor as the Seahawks outscored York 11-2 over a seven-minute stretch, tying the game at 54 with 9:31 left in the half.
• After the teams traded three pointers, Matt Ayoub drilled a three from the right wing to give St. Mary's a 60-57 lead with 8:11 left in the game. Bady answered with a three and a lay-up but that lead was short-lived as Reggie Rouse tied the game yet again with a lay-up on the ensuing Seahawk possession.
• York then went on a key run as the Spartans turned up the defense and forced the Seahawks into missed shots and turnovers. The run started with Zach Novick splitting a pair of free throws. A steal by Mike Frauenheim followed by a fast break bucket by Joey Polczynski put York up three. After a stop and a pair of offensive rebounds by Bady, he was fouled and made both free throws to go up five. After another stop, Darin Gordon drove baseline for a lay-up to go up seven. Bady closed out the run with a bucket with 2:57 left after Frauenheim dug out a key offensive rebound.
• The Seahawks wouldn't go away as Justin Milstead converted a three pointer with 2:09 mark and after a stop against the Spartans, Rouse made it a four-point margin with a lay-up with 1:18 left. Junior Jared Wagner was fouled with 53 seconds left and split the pair as the York lead was five. Milstead answered with a driving lay-up with 38 seconds left as the York advantage was three at 72-69.
• After a 30 second timeout with 26 seconds left, the Spartans came up empty on their possession and the Seahawks got the rebound. St. Mary's pushed the ball quickly and Milstead was fouled attempting a three pointer with three seconds left. Milstead drilled all three free throws as the Spartans had 3.9 seconds to get something done to avoid overtime. Polczynski inbounded the ball with a long throw beyond midcourt. David Giuliani collected the ball and was fouled with 1.2 seconds left. Giuliani calmly sunk the first free throw and, much like Bady's second attempt against Salisbury, he missed intentionally as the Spartans escaped with a one-point win for the second straight game.
Spartan Leaders
Jason Bady: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot
Joey Polczynski: 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Darin Gordon: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Seahawkl Leaders
Justin Milstead: 18 points, 1 steal
Reggie Rouse: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Spencer Schultz: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Matt Ayoub: 10 points, 3 rebounds
Game Notes:
The Spartans have won six straight against the Seahawks as York leads the all-time series 46-24 … the Spartans' six game win streak is their largest of the season … the Spartans shot just 24.3% from three, their second lowest percentage of the year (9-for-39, 23.1% vs. Stockton) … the Spartans held a 16-4 advantage in made free throws for the game … the game was tied 13 times while there was 11 lead changes … York lost the battle on the glass for their fifth straight game but it hasn't slowed the Spartans as the have won all five games … St. Mary's outscored York 34-14 in bench points and 11-6 in second chance points … York forced 14 St. Mary's turnovers and turned those miscues into 24 points … junior Joey Polczynski recorded his second double-double of the year as he notched 18 points and tied a career-high with 11 rebounds … Polczynski's first double-double of the year came in the season opener against Dickinson … York now has seven double-doubles for the year as Jason Bady has a team-high three while Polczynski has two … Jared Wagner and Darin Gordon each have one double-double for York this year … senior Mike Frauenheim tied his season-high with seven assists in the win while he had just one turnover as he played another outstanding floor game … Frauenheim has 84 assists and 37 turnovers for the year.
Up Next:
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday evening when they make their final regular season trip to Frostburg State University as the Spartans take on the Bobcats in York's final regular season road game of the year. Tip time on Wednesday night is set for 8:00 pm at Bobcat Arena.