YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team earned a berth in the 2019 Capital Athletic Conference championship game with their 69-62 win over the University Mary Washington in the conference semifinals on Thursday night in York. The Spartans have now won 10 straight as they advance to face Christopher Newport in the conference championship game on Saturday. The game featured 21 lead changes and five ties in a contest that wasn't decided until the final minute.
Game #27 – CAC Semifinals
Final Score: York (Pa.) 69, Mary Washington 62
Records: York 21-6, UMW 18-9
Field Goals: York 24-for-54, UMW 23-for-46
Field Goal %: York 44.4%, UMW 50%
Three Point FG: York 17-for-36, UMW 11-for-20
Three Point FG %: York 47.2%, UMW 55.0%
Free Throws: York 4-for-7, UMW 5-for-8
Free Throw %: York 57.1%, UMW 62.5%
Rebounds: York 26, UMW 31
Assists: York 20, UMW 16
Turnovers: York 13, UMW 18
Blocked Shots: York 3, UMW 2
Steals: York 11, UMW 7
How It Happened
• The first half was back and forth the entire 20 minutes. The Eagles largest lead was five points at 27-22 with 5:12 left in the stanza. That lead came after the Eagles went on a sustained 15-6 run that covered over seven minutes.
• The Spartans answered the Eagle run with a 13-2 spurt that covered the final five minutes of the half. The run was capped by a Jared Wagner banked three at the horn to give York their biggest lead of the half at 35-29.
• The first half was just an appetizer for a dramatic second half. York got a Jason Bady lay up to start the second half but the Eagles responded with a 9-0 run to take a one point lead. The next 15 minutes of play was playoff basketball at it's best. Those next 15 minutes featured seven lead changes and one final tie. That tie came at 60 on a Greg Rowson three with 2:15 left in the game.
• The Spartans broke that tie on a fantastic individual effort from Zach Novick. Teammate Joey Polczynski missed a three from the left corner but Novick timed the rebound perfect and laid the ball back in to give York a 62-60 lead with 1:39 left. The Spartans got a huge defensive stop on Mary Washington's next possession as Wagner blocked a Jacob Williams lay up and Polczynski got the rebound for York. Wagner then made sure the Spartans increased the lead in the ensuing possession. With the shot clock running down, Wagner whipped a dime to Polczynski from the top of the key to the lower left block. Polczynsk finished the chance, giving York a 64-60 lead with 48 seconds left. It was Wagner's career-high 10th assist of the night.
• Williams cut the lead in half six seconds later with a tough, contested layup with 42 seconds left. After a UMW timeout, Wagner hit a huge three pointer with 13 seconds remaining, increasing the lead to five. York got another stop and Bady pulled in his 11th rebound of the game and was fouled. He closed out the game with two free throws, giving York the seven point victory.
Spartan Leaders
Jared Wagner: 21 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots, 7-for-9 3PT FG
Jason Bady: 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Darin Gordon: 12 points, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot, 4-for-6 3PT FG
Eagle Leaders
Greg Rowson: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal, 4-for-7 3PT FG
Johnny Cronin: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Da'Shawn Cook: 6 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Game Notes:
The Spartans now hold a 38-36 lead in the all-time series against the Eagles as York won two of the three games for the season … the Eagles were the last team to beat York as they claimed a 74-62 win at Rosner Arena on January 19 … the Spartans improve to 13-1 at Wolf Gymnasium this year including nine in a row at home … the Spartans are now 5-2 against Mary Washington in the CAC Tournament as the Spartans have won two straight against UMW in the tournament … York is now 3-0 against the Eagles in the CAC Tournament in York … the Spartans are now 26-21 all-time in the CAC Tournament … York is now 25-3 at home in the last two years including 17-1 against CAC opponents … the Spartans earned their seventh berth in the CAC finals and second under the guidance of head coach Matt Hunter … York is 3-3 all-time in the CAC title game … senior Jason Bady was named the CAC Player of the Year on Thursday morning while junior Jared Wagner earned second team honors … the duo proved why they earned the all-league honors as they combined for 38 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, two blocked shots and six steals in 77 minutes of action … Wagner set a new career-high with 10 assists while he converted a career-high seven three-point field goals in nine attempts … Bady notched his team-high fifth double-double of the year with a hard-earned 17 points and 11 rebounds … Wagner's double-double was his second of the year … Bady was the only Spartan to attempt a free throw in the game as he was 4-for-7 … there were only 15 total free throws attempted in the game, the lowest combined total of the season … the previous low was 26 in the home game against Penn State Harrisburg on January 31 … the Spartans made 17 three pointers in the win and they were a combined 36-for-77 from distance in their last two games against Mary Washington … York dished out 20 assists in the win as they now have six games with 20 or more assists for the year … The Spartans have limited their two CAC Tournament opponents to a combined 109 points, or an average of 54.5 points per game … the Spartans shot 47.2% from three and that's their second highest three-point percentage for the year (10-for-20, 50% at Delaware Valley).
Up Next:
The Spartans now head to Christopher Newport for the second straight year to square off against the Captains in the Capital Athletic Conference championship game. Tip time from the Freeman Center is set for 5:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.