YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season in impressive fashion as they rolled past Lebanon Valley College 86-66 in the season opener for both squads.
The Spartans used sharp shooting and timely defense to post the win. Senior Kevin Whaley led the Spartans with 23 points while three other Spartans reached double figures in the win.
York raced out to a quick 16-4 lead just over five minutes into the game. Whaley got the Spartans going as he scored 10 of the Spartans' first 12 points in the game. The Spartans pushed the lead to 18 late into the first half as York led 34-14 with 8:40 left in the half. Lebanon Valley outscored York 20-9 over the final 8:19 of the half as York's lead stood at 43-34 at the break.
The Flying Dutchmen came out of the half and took the play to the Spartans, cutting the lead to four at 51-47 just 4:31 into the second stanza. The Green and White then embarked on a 22-6 run that pushed the lead to 20 at 73-53. The run was kick started by a Whaley three followed by a Jeremy Skoloda triple and a fast break layup as the lead grew to 12 in just over 1:08 of game time.
The Spartans pushed the lead to 24 twice before York settled for the 20-point season-opening win.
Whaley was brilliant as he was 7-for-10 from the floor, 5-for-6 from three and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. He also handed out eight assists and had just one turnover in his 29 minutes of work. Junior Paul Kouvaris added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line. Kouvaris also had four rebounds for York. Skoloda came off the bench to record 17 points, four rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot. Skoloda was 7-for-11 from the floor, 2-for-4 from three, and 1-of-2 from the stripe. Sophomore Julian Watson was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 10 points while he also had five assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
Junior captain Andrew Pawlyk added seven rebounds, six assists and a steal in his return to the Spartan line up after missing last season due to injury.
Anthony Trautman led the Flying Dutchmen with a game-high 25 points, as he was 9-for-14 from the floor including 2-for-6 from three and 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Trautman also pulled down eight rebounds for LVC. Joe Meehan contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Danny Brooks led the Dutchmen on the glass as he pulled in a game-high nine caroms while he also had five points.
The Spartans shot 56.1% from the floor including a blistering 56.3% (9-for-16) from three. The Green and White did struggled a bit from the free throw line as York was just 13-for-23 (56.5%) from the stripe. Lebanon Valley finished the game at 42.9% from the floor, just 28.4% (4-for-14) from three and 58.3% (14-for-24) from the free throw line.
York did a great job of taking care of the ball as they committed just 11 turnovers while they had 22 assists for the night. The Flying Dutchmen did dominate the Spartans on the glass, holding a significant 38-27 edge in rebounding. The Spartans forced 23 LVC turnovers, which the Green and White turned into 28 points.
York returns to action on Friday night when they host PSU-York in the opening round of the 2010 White Rose City Classic in York. Tip time at Charles Wolf Gymnasium is set for 6:00 pm.