YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team closed out the fall semester portion of their schedule with an impressive 81-64 victory over Gwynedd-Mercy College in a non-conference contest on Monday night in York. The Spartans improve to 7-3 overall as they have won two straight while the Griffins fall to 6-3 for the campaign.
Three Spartans reached double figures led by Kevin Whaley's 16 points as York featured a very balanced offensive attack with 11 players scoring in the win.
The Spartans were very impressive defensively as they held the high-flying Griffin attack to just 64 points. Gwynedd-Mercy entered the game averaging over 88 points per game while they had been dominating opponents on the boards as they owned a plus 11 rebounding margin for the season. Those numbers went out the window as the Green and White limited the Griffins to just 37.1% shooting while the Spartans out-rebounded their guests 44-38 for the game.
York started off a little slow against the Griffin zone. The Spartans trailed 11-10 on a Jon Hogga lay up with 13:54 left in the first half. The Spartans then put together a 13-0 run started by an Andrew Pawlyk lay up. Sophomore Julian Watson was largely responsible for the scoring on the run as he scored nine straight points on the spurt as the Spartans led 23-11 with 11:45 remaining.
The Spartans built the lead to 16 twice in the half but the Griffins made a late run, cutting the York lead to eight at 36-28 with 1:48 showing on the clock. Sophomore Jeremy Skoloda made sure the Spartans went to the half with the momentum as he cashed out a pair of three pointers in the final 1:16 of the stanza to give York a 42-28 lead at the break.
Gwynedd-Mercy trimmed the Spartan lead to 11 on a Frank Champion three-point play early in the second half. However, York fashioned a 9-0 spurt to push the lead to 20 at 55-35. The Griffins would not get any closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Whaley was 7-for-14 from the floor including 2-of-5 from the field in the win. He also had four rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot in his 30 minutes of action. Watson added 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals while senior Dylan Hoffman had another all around outstanding game. The guard had 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots in just 18 minutes of action. Hoffman was 6-for-9 from the floor for the Spartans. Pawlyk led the Spartan charge on the glass as he collected seven caroms in addition to his seven points. Skoloda chipped in nine points, five rebounds and a pair of assists for York.
Jon Crabtree led the Griffins with a game-high 21 points, as he was 8-for-16 from the floor, 3-for-5 from three and 2-for-2 from the line. He also had six rebounds and six assists for Gwynedd-Mercy. Hogga added 14 rebounds and a team-high seven rebounds while Dan Delconte contributed 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Spartans finished the contest shooting 46.3% from the floor, 30% from three and 61.9% from the free throw line. In addition to Gwynedd-Mercy's 37.1% shooting from the field, the Griffins shot 31.6% from three and 80% (12-for-15) from the free throw line.
The Spartans' six-rebound margin is just the third time this year they have out-rebounded an opponent. York also did an outstanding job of taking care of the ball as they committed just 12 turnovers. The Spartans have had just 31 miscues in their last three games while they have had 56 assists in that same three-game span.
York now has a little over two weeks off until they make their next appearance at Wolf Gymnasium. The Spartans will welcome Cabrini College to York on Wednesday, December 29 for a non-conference contest. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 7:00 pm.