READING, PA – The York College men's basketball team dropped their final non-conference contest of the year, falling to a very talented Alvernia University Crusader squad, 66-55, on Monday night in Reading.
The Crusaders improve to 17-4 overall while the Spartans fall to 7-15.
Alvernia jumped on York early as the Crusaders sprinted out to an 8-2 lead. The hosts maintained the lead until York went on an 8-2 run of their own to take a 20-18 advantage with 6:36 left in the half.
That's when the Crusaders got hot and the Spartans went ice cold. Over the final 6:33 of the half, the Crusaders outscored York 12-2 with all 12 of the Alvernia baskets coming from downtown. The Spartans went 6:09 without finding the bottom of the net as the chances for an upset suffered a big blow. Alvernia took a 32-22 lead to the break.
The Crusaders came out of the half intent on quelling any potential Spartan uprising early. Alvernia began the half with a 10-2 run as they opened up an 18-point lead less than four minutes into the half.
The Crusaders pushed the lead to a game-high 22 on a Kahlil Bennett triple with 7:45 remaining in the game. The Spartans went on an 11-1 run to draw to within 12 at 60-48 with 3:16 left. The Crusaders quickly pushed it back to 16 before York scored seven straight points to trim their deficit to nine. Unfortunately for York, they ran out of time and the Crusaders settled for the 11 point win.
Alvernia placed five players in double figures led by Bennett as he poured in a game-high 19 points. Bennett was 7-for-15 from the floor including 5-for-11 from three. Terrance Bridgers added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals to the Crusader effort. Lamont Clark contributed 11 points while Brian Parker and Josh Vargas each tallied 10 points. Chris Davis handed out 10 assists and collected eight rebounds for the hosts.
York was led by Mike Mathews (Newark, Del./Salesianum) as the junior guard returned to the lineup after being sick for the last week and tallied 15 points. Mathews was 4-for-10 from the floor including 1-for-3 from three. He made a career-high six free throws in eight attempts from the stripe. Mathews also recorded seven rebounds and had two steals in his 28 minutes of work.
Senior Todd Maciejewski (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) added 11 points and six rebounds for York. Julian Watson (Odenton, Md./Arundel) and Chad Styer (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) each contributed eight points. York played without senior starter Mitch Kemp (York, Pa./York Suburban) as he missed the game after being injured in Saturday's game at Salisbury.
Alvernia limited the Spartans to 35.1% shooting from the floor while York struggled from distance, converting just 3-of-18 (16.7%) from behind the line. Alvernia shot a crisp 48% from the field including notching 10 three pointers on 23 attempts.
York outrebounded the Crusaders 38-35 and only committed 10 turnovers but that would not be enough to overcome their cold shooting.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Wesley College in a Capital Athletic Conference tilt. Game time at Charles Wolf Gymnasium is set for 3:00 pm.