YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team rode hot shooting and a stifling defense to post a 91-52 Capital Athletic Conference win over Stevenson University on Wednesday night in Charles Wolf Gymnasium. The Spartans improve to 14-8 overall and 8-5 in the conference while the Mustangs fall to 6-17 overall and 2-12 in the league.
Sophomore guard Mo Oursler led three Spartans in double figures with a career-high 20 points as York reached 90 points or more for the seventh time this season.
The Spartans actually got off to a slow start as they scored just three points over the opening 4:50 of the game. York missed six of their first seven shots of the game but that changed quickly midway through the half. The Spartan defense held the Mustangs to just two points over the opening 9:56 of the first half. The defense allowed the Spartan offense to get on track as they led 12-2 with 11:04 left in the half. The Mustangs scored the next basket of the game but York hit their guests with a 35-7 run that covered the final 9:43 of the half as they took a 47-11 lead to the break.
Oursler was huge for the Spartans in the first half as he netted 17 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor including 5-for-5 from three.
The second half saw the Spartans push the lead to a game-high 50 twice as York head coach Jeff Gamber got his reserves some quality court time. No Spartan starter played more than Oursler's 25 minutes in the contest and every healthy Spartan played at least four minutes.
Oursler finished the contest shooting 7-for-8 from the floor including 6-for-7 from three, making his first collegiate start a memorable one. He also had three assists, and a rebound. The 20 points, the seven field goals and the six three-pointers were all new career standards for Oursler.
Senior Kevin Whaley added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in his 24 minutes of work. He was 5-for-8 from the floor, 1-for-2 from three and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Sophomore Mitch Kemp came off the bench and notched 10 points and three assists in a mere 10 minutes of action. Junior Paul Kouvaris led the Spartan effort on the glass with eight rebounds to go along with nine points and four assists. Junior forward Andrew Pawlyk also had a strong game on the glass with seven rebounds in 17 minutes of work.
Danny Murphy led the Mustangs with 12 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Murphy was 6-for-11 from the floor in his team-high 32 minutes of action. Greg Woody added 11 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Mustangs. Laron Knight came off the bench to add 10 points to the Mustang offense.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 55.6% from the field, 61.1% (11-for-18) from three, and 60.6% (20-for-33) from the charity stripe.
The York defense limited the Mustangs to 30% shooting for the game. However, the Spartans held Stevenson to just 3-for-24 (12.5%) shooting in the first half. The Mustangs went 3-for-15 (20%) from three and 13-for-25 (52%) from the floor.
The Spartans held a 50-32 edge on the glass while they also posted a 32-16 advantage in points in the paint.
The Green and White now take to the road for trips to Mary Washington Saturday and Wesley next Wednesday before coming home for the regular season finale on Saturday, February 19. The tip time against Mary Washington on Saturday is set for 2:00 pm in Fredericksburg, VA.