YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team found that life as a ranked team is not going to be an easy one. The Spartans, who entered the D3hoops.com Top 25 at number 25 yesterday, needed every thing they had on Tuesday night as they outlasted a determined Dickinson College squad, 66-63, in a non-conference contest in Carlisle.
The Spartans trailed almost the entire game before Matt Scamuffo hit a three pointer from the left corner with 29 seconds left to give the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish en route to the big non-conference victory.
Game #9
Records: York 9-0, Dickinson 5-4
Final Score: York 66, Dickinson 63
Field Goals: York 18-for-63, Dickinson 23-for-57
Field Goal %: York 28.6%, Dickinson 40.4%
Three Point FG: York 7-for-27, Dickinson 4-for-20
Three Point FG %: York 25.9%, Dickinson 20.0%
Free Throws: York 23-for-32, Dickinson 13-for-26
Free Throw %: York 71.9%, Dickinson 50%
Rebounds: York 46, Dickinson 44
Assists: York 11, Dickinson 12
Blocked Shots: York 5, Dickinson 5
Steals: York 6, Dickinson 3
How It Happened
• The Spartans raced out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to three pointers from Jared Wagner and Jason Bady. That lead would be short-lived as the Red Devils answered with a prolonged 16-5 spurt that gave the Devils an 18-11 advantage midway through the opening half.
• The Spartans struggled from the field all night long as they missed a number of close shots and open looks as they shot the ball poorly for the first time this year. The Spartans battled back to tie the game at 21 with 5:24 left in the first half but the Red Devils outscored the Spartans 12-4 the remainder of the half as they took a 33-25 lead to the break. It's the largest deficit faced by the Spartans at the half all year. It's also just the third time York has trailed at the intermission.
• The second half didn't start much better for the Green and White as Justus Melton converted a three-point play 1:54 into the second half to give Dickinson a 36-25 lead early in the stanza. York continued to fight but were unable to get the Dickinson lead below six points throughout the opening ten minutes of the second half. Dickinson pushed the lead back to 11 on a Bryce Allen three-point play 10:35 left in the game.
• Things continued to look dire for the Spartans as Mike Hinckley split a pair of free throws with 2:19 left as the Red Devil lead stood at 61-53. The Devils forced a missed shot on the ensuing Spartan possession but Allen committed a turnover, giving York the ball with 2:00 left. Wagner stepped up and hit another huge three with 1:53 remaining, drawing York to within five at 61-56.
• The Spartans fouled and Moses Romocki missed both as Dalton Myers collected a defensive rebound. He was fouled and made a pair of free throws with 1:31 left, cutting the York deficit to 61-58. The Red Devils got a breakaway lay up against the press as Romocki finished the chance to push the lead back to five with 1:08 left. Wagner was then fouled with 1:02 left and split the pair as York trailed 63-59. York's defensive pressure forced another Allen turnover and the Spartans converted the turnover into a Mike Frauenheim lay up as York trailed by two.
• York forced a third straight turnover from Allen with 43 seconds left. After a Dickinson timeout, the Spartans ran good offense, getting Scamuffo an open look from the left corner and the senior came up big with a shot that drew nothing but net, putting York up one with less than 29 seconds left.
• Dickinson got a good look on their next possession and the rebound got batted around and came down in the hands of Melton who got fouled with 12.4 left. Melton, who entered the game shooting 50% from the line, missed both and Darin Gordon grabbed the rebound on the second miss and was fouled. Gordon split the pair, putting York up a two.
• York got one more stop as, after a timeout with 5.4 seconds left, Melton had his inbounds pass stolen by Myers who flicked the ball to Wagner who was fouled with 1.0 seconds left. He split the pair to put York up three. Dickinson's final effort was well short as York escaped with the dramatic win. York outscored Dickinson 10-2 over the final 2:19 of the game to remain unbeaten.
Spartan Leaders
Blayde Reich: 14 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot
Jared Wagner: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal
Dalton Myers: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Jason Bady: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Dickinson Leaders
Justus Melton: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 1 assist, 1 steal
Moses Romocki: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Bryce Allen: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Mike Hinckley: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
John Stenger: 11 rebounds, 0 points, 2 assists
Game Notes:
The Spartans have now won two straight in the series against the Red Devils as York holds an 11-8 all-time lead in the series … York is now 6-5 at the Kline Center in Carlisle … York has won six of the last eight in the series … tonight's game was the first between the two programs since November 19, 2005 … the Spartans are ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 2005-06 season when York was 18th after going 25-4 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament … the 9-0 start is the best start in the 49 year history of the program … the Spartans shot a season worse 28.6% from the floor, blowing their previous worse out of the water (39.3% on December 2 vs. Mary Washington) … York's 23 made free throws ties their season high as they also converted 23 in the road win at Wesley on November 29 … York's 46 rebounds were their second highest total of the year behind the 49 against Pitt-Bradford (Nov.17) and against Frostburg State (Dec. 6) … the Spartans' 17 offensive rebounds tied their season-high (vs. Pitt-Bradford in the season opener) …the Spartans' 11 assists were a season low while their 11 turnovers were also a season low … York outscored Dickinson 16-14 in points off turnovers while the Red Devils held a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint … York's 17 offensive rebounds led to 16 second chance points … senior Blayde Reich recorded his third career double-double with his 14 points and career-high 16 rebounds … Reich had double-doubles last year at Mary Washington (24 points, 11 rebounds) and at Salisbury (21 points, 10 rebounds) … its the first time Reich has recorded a double-double and York has won the game … York now has four double-doubles for the year with Dalton Myers owning three of them … Jared Wagner had a career night from the stripe as he nailed 12-of-14 free throws en route to his season-high 18 points, just one short of tying his career high (Feb. 18, 2017 vs. Christopher Newport) … Wagner's 12 made free throws ties him for sixth on the single-game list … Myers continues to climb the career scoring chart as he is now 16th all alone with 1,163 points, 12 short of Rawle Phillips (1985-89) in 15th place … fellow senior Matt Scamuffo remains in 19th place with 1,132 points, 17 short of tying Todd Witmer (1983-86) and his 1,149 points … York finished 3-0 against the Centennial Conference as they defeated Gettysburg, Swarthmore, and Dickinson … the national ranking for the Spartans marks the 20th week in school history that they have been among the national rankings.
Up Next:
The Spartans are now off for the Christmas holiday as they don't return to action on Friday, December 29 when they head to Lexington, Virginia to participate in the Washington and Lee Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament. The Green and White will face off against the second-ranked Middlebury College Panthers in the opening round of the tournament. The game will tip at 4:00 pm following the host Generals playing Clarks Summitt in the 2:00 pm game.