NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The York College Spartan men's basketball team dropped a 73-57 Capital Athletic Conference decision at Christopher Newport University on Saturday afternoon in Newport News, VA.
With the loss, the Spartans fall to 3-16 overall and 2-9 in the conference. The Captains improve to 13-5 overall and 6-4 in the league. The meeting was the first-ever in Newport News for the two new conference foes.
The Captains roared out of the gate as they scored the first 12 points of the game, jumping out to the early double-digit lead. The Spartans answered with a 10-3 spurt the draw to within five on a Joey Feinberg (New City, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep) triple with 12:36 left in the half.
The Captains answered York's run with a 9-2 run to push their lead back to 12. York cut the Captains' advantage to five three times in the final five minutes of the half but CNU got a questionable tip in at the buzzer to take a 10 point lead to the break. It appeared that Luc Atangana tapped the ball home while it was still in the cylinder but it counted as the Captains took the momentum to the half.
CNU got off to a great start in the second half as they hit York with a 13-6 run over the opening four minutes to push their lead to 17 at 50-33. The Spartans would not get closer than 16 the rest of the way as the Captains cruised to their sixth league win.
Four Captains reached double figures led by Connor Laframboise as he notched 15 points with six rebounds in just 19 minutes of play. Mike Cherry and Evan Thorpe each contributed 13 points while the Captains' leading scorer, Tra Benefield, notched 10 points for CNU.
Freshman Brad Wesner (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) tallied a career-high 14 points, as he was 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from the stripe. Wesner also had two assists and a rebound in his 26 minutes of play. Freshman Dalton Myers (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) was the other Spartan in double figures with 12 points while he also pulled in a team-high seven rebounds. Feinberg chipped in seven points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
York shot 51.2% from the floor, their second highest mark of the season. However, York struggled from three, converting a season-low 1-for-10 from distance. CNU shot 47.4% from the floor including 8-for-21 (38.1%) from three. York was 14-for-25 (56%) from the free throw line while CNU converted 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the stripe.
CNU held a slight 33-30 margin on the glass but a 13-7 edge in offensive rebounds. The Captains finished the game attempting 16 more shots than York.
The Spartans return home on Wednesday when they host Wesley College in a CAC contest. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 8:00 pm.