BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The York College men's basketball team defeated St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn), 76-72, Saturday evening, holding off a late Bears run that nearly erased an 18-point second-half deficit.
 
The Cardinals held what looked to be a comfortable 70-52 cushion with 9:20 left in the game and a 14-point lead (74-60) with just 2:53 left.  But the Bears closed the game with a 12-2 run only to come up a bit short.  Shortly after that 14-point lead was established, St. Joseph's scored on three consecutive possessions, including three-pointers made by Matt O'Neill and David Ortiz.   After a York turnover, St. Joe's scored again to make it 74-70 with 1:11 to play. 
 
St. Joe's had an opportunity to cut further into the lead after York turned it over on the next possession and then fouled a St. Joe's player.  But David Louison of St. Joseph's missed both free throws and York came up with the rebound.  The Cardinals missed an opportunity to put the game away there after missing the front end of a one-and-one following a St. Joseph's foul.  A lay-up on St. Joseph's next possession by Louison made it just a two-point game (74-72) with 13 seconds to play. 
 
However, York was able to finally put the game away when Michael Trowers sank both free throws to put the Cardinals back up by two scores with 11 seconds to play.  St. Joseph's then missed a three-pointer on its final possession of the game.
 
The Cardinals had built up a big lead thanks to a strong first half in which they scored nearly 50 points.  A 12-0 run in just under a minute of play highlighted the Cardinals first half and gave York a 37-26 cushion. A three-pointer by Trowers and a three-point play by Thomas Hart were the key plays during the run.  The Cardinals led by as many as 19 points and closed the half with a 49-35 advantage.
 
Tony Vails was once again the leading scorer, as he netted 23 points and pushed his streak of 20+ point games to seven.  Jose Arroyo andDaShawn Bobbitt each finished with 12 points off the bench and Hart chipped in nine points and six boards.
 
St. Joe's was led by Louison, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  Michae Megafu also had a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.
 
York improves to 3-4 with the win, while St. Joseph's falls to 5-3.  The Cardinals will return to action on Thursday when they visit rival Brooklyn College at 7:30 p.m.