CHESTER, PA – The York College men's basketball team earned their way into the 2023 MAC Commonwealth tournament with a 78-64 road win at Widener on Saturday afternoon in their regular season finale.
The Spartans will be the tournament's fifth seed and will travel to Eastern on Monday night in the tournament's opening round. The Spartans made the tournament despite their 1-6 start in conference play.
The Spartans improve to 14-11 overall and conclude the conference slate at 8-8. The Pride, who will be the tournament's second seed, head into the postseason with a mark of 17-8 overall and an 11-5 record in the Commonwealth.
How It Happened
• The game was back-and-forth early with neither team really able to grasp control of the game. With the game tied at 15, the Spartans went on a quick 8-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the half at 23-15 with 6:03 left in the half. Chris Miers had five points on the run for the Spartans.
• The Pride answered with a seven-point run of their own, cutting York's lead to one. The Spartans continued the game of back-and-forth with an 8-2 run to push out to a 31-24 lead with 1:48 remaining before the intermission. The Pride scored the next six before Tate Landis hit a three with 22 seconds left to give York a 34-30 halftime lead.
• The Spartans were very sloppy with the ball as they committed 13 first-half turnovers which allowed Widener to score 11 points. Fortunately for York, when they did complete a possession, it ended well as they were 13-for-19 (68.4%) from the floor including 6-for-9 (66.7%) from three. Widener shot just 26.3% in the first half.
• The start to the second half was much like the beginning of the first half. Both teams made little spurts as the game remained tight. Widener's Kenny Lewis hit back-to-back lay-ups to cut the Spartan lead to 42-39 just under five minutes into the second half. The Spartans then put together a 12-3 run to push the lead to 12 with 11:38 left in the game. Kai Cipalla had seven points on the run as York was 5-for-6 from the floor including one three and a free throw.
• The Pride clawed their way back into the game and sliced the Spartan lead to 60-56 on a pair of Dominic Dunn free throws with 5:12 left. The Spartans responded in impressive fashion as they ripped off a game-deciding 14-4 run that gave York a 74-60 lead with 1:18 left in the game. The Spartan lead would grow to as many as 15 before settling for the 14-point win.
By the Numbers
The Spartans shot a season-best 63.6% (28-for-44) from the floor and a season-best 52.4% (11-for-21) from three … Widener was 21-for-65 (32.2%) from the floor including 7-for-20 (35%) from three … both teams were average from the line as York was 11-for-17 while Widener was 15-for-24 … the Pride dominated the glass 35-25 including a 15-0 bulge in offensive rebounding which led to a 12-0 Widener advantage in second chance points … Widener turned York's 20 turnovers into 18 points while York converted Widener's nine miscues into 11 points … York recorded a season-high seven blocked shots in the win … Dominic Dunn led the Pride with 22 points while he also had 10 rebounds … Pat Holden added 12 points and five assists while Steven Matlack was the third Widener player in double figures with 10 points.
Spartan Notes
The Spartans and Pride split the regular season series with both road teams winning … the win snaps a five-game losing streak to the Pride as Widener leads the all-time series 7-2 … sophomore Kai Cipalla led four Spartan in double figures as he tossed in 22 points to go with four rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal in 35 minutes of play … Cipalla was 8-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-2 from three and 4-for-8 from the line … Chris Miers continued his stellar play with 17 points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal … Jackson Mascari added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot … freshman Tate Landis came off the bench with 13 big points to go along with four rebounds, and two assists … Landis was 5-for-5 from the floor including 3-for-3 from distance … freshman Pat Gilhool played a big role on defense as he had a career-high three blocked shots to go another with three defensive rebounds in his 19 minutes of work … York's 20 turnovers marked the third time this year that the Spartans have had 20 or more turnovers in a game, ironically they are 3-0 in those contests … the 11 three-pointers made is tied for their second-highest total of the year … the Spartans had a season-low three steals in the win … the Spartans have qualified for the MAC Commonwealth tournament in both of their MAC seasons since moving to the league.
Up Next
The Spartans begin their second season on Monday night as they travel to St. David's, PA to face the Eastern University Eagles. Game time is set for 7:00 pm Monday night.