YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team rode the momentum of a huge home crowd and earned a 79-69 Capital Athletic Conference win over two-time defending champion Christopher Newport on Saturday afternoon at Wolf Gymnasium in York.
The Spartans are riding a school-record 15-game win streak as they are now 8-0 in the league and own a two-game lead over Salisbury and a three-game advantage over Mary Washington and CNU.
Game #15
Records: #8 York 15-0 (8-0 CAC), CNU 11-4 (5-3 CAC)
Final Score: York 79, CNU 69
Field Goals: York 25-for-46, CNU 27-for-67
Field Goal %: York 54.3%, CNU 40.3%
Three Point FG: York 9-for-23, CNU 8-for-25
Three Point FG %: York 39.1%, CNU 32.0%
Free Throws: York 20-for-26, CNU 7-for-9
Free Throw %: York 76.9%, CNU 77.8%
Rebounds: York 35, CNU 35
Assists: York 12, CNU 17
Blocked Shots: York 2, CNU 2
Steals: York 4, CNU 9
How It Happened
• The Spartans could not have asked for a better start in front of the biggest crowd of the season. The Spartans sprinted out to a 15-4 lead just over five minutes into the game. Matt Scamuffo and Jared Wagner opened the scoring with a pair of three pointers. Jason Bady converted a three-point play and it looked like the Spartans might blow out the two-time defending CAC champions.
• The Captains steadied the ship and started climbing back into the game. CNU trimmed their deficit to five on an Aaron McFarland three with 9:30 left in the half. The Captains continued to whittle away at the Spartan advantage and got to within two on a pair of Jason Aigner free throws with 2:53 left in the half. York closed the half on a quick 6-2 spurt to take a 39-33 lead to the break. The Captains outscored York in the paint 22-16 while their bench outscored their York counterparts 22-6.
• The Captains came roaring out of the half as they got a Spencer Marin lay up followed by a Cutch Ellis triple, trimming York's lead to one. The Spartan lead bounced between one and three points before Marin gave the Captains their only lead of the game as he hit a lay up with with 17:23 left in the game, giving CNU a 44-43 lead. Senior Blayde Reich drilled a three pointer from the top of the key in the ensuing possession to give the lead back to York. That triple kick started a quick 9-0 run as Reich hit a pair of threes followed by a Scamuffo triple as the lead grew to 52-44.
• The Captains answered back with a pair of threes of their own as the game continued its second half see-saw. Scamuffo hit another three to start a 9-2 run that pushed York's lead back to 10 at 61-51. The Captains made another run with three pointers from Aigner and Brock Geiman, again cutting the York lead to four with 9:18 left in the game.
• The Spartans continued to keep the Captains at arms length but were never able to really pull away. CNU made one last run at the Spartans as they got another Ellis three and a Marin lay up to trim York's lead to 68-66 with 3:45 left in the game. The Spartans answered like they have all year as they limited the Captains to just an Aigner three pointer over the final 3:30 of regulation. York outscored CNU 9-3 over that final segment of the game to close out the win.
Spartan Leaders
Matt Scamuffo: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 5-for-9 3PT FG
Blayde Reich: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6-for-11 FG, 2-for-5 3PT FG, 3-for-5 FT
Jared Wagner: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Jason Bady: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Dalton Myers: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Christopher Newport Leaders
Spencer Marin: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Savonte Chappell: 12 points, 1 rebound
Jason Aigner: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2-for-5 3PT FG, 4-for-4 FT
Luther Gibbs: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
Game Notes:
The Spartans snapped a nine game losing streak against CNU as they are now 2-9 all-time against the Captains … York's last win over CNU came in York on December 6, 1992 when York notched a 75-72 win at old Wolf Gymnasium … the 15-game win streak bests the 14-game streak from January 26, 2005 through March 12, 2005 … the streak is the fourth double digit win streak in school history … the attendance of 1,810 is the second largest crowd in the 12-year history of Charles Wolf Gymnasium at the Grumbacher Center, second only to November 18, 2006 when 2,100 fans celebrated the opening of the gym against Stevenson … the Spartans shot 54.3% from the field including 57.1% in the second half … that marks the seventh time this year that York has shot 50% or better from the floor … York has been over 50% in three of their last five games … York shot 39.1% from three and that's the eighth time they have been over 35% in a game … York converted 76.9% from the line as they shot 75% or better for the fifth time this year … the Spartans were out-rebounded for the sixth time on the season as the Captains held a 35-33 advantage on the glass … senior Matt Scamuffo continues to climb the all-time scoring list and also the all-time three pointers made … Scamuffo now has 1,216 points as he passed former Spartan standout Julian Watson for 15th place … Scamuffo now has his sights set on John Ely who 58 points in front of the senior … Scamuffo now has 206 career threes as he passed all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer Andy O'Brien who had 205 in his illustrious Spartan career … senior Dalton Myers moved into 13th place on the all-time scoring list as he passed John Ely (1,274 points) … Myers now has 1,284 points as he trails Scott Bortner (1974-78) for 12th place … Myers is 126 points away from joining the all-time top ten … senior Blayde Reich now 53 points away from becoming the 24th player in school history to join the 1,000 career point club … York placed five players in double figures for the third time this year … sophomore Jared Wagner tied a season-high with six assists in the win …. Wagner has dished out six assists in five different games this year … Wagner is second in the CAC in assists per game … Wagner has reached double figures in five straight games and ten times overall for the season … Scamuffo has tallied double figures in his last four games … junior Jason Bady tallied double figures for the third straight game and the eighth time this year.
Up Next:
The Spartans head back out on the road on Wednesday as they head to St. Mary's City, Maryland to face the Seahawks in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. In a reverse of normal scheduling, the men will tip off the CAC doubleheader at 6:00 pm followed by the women's game at 8:00 pm. That starts a three-game road trip that includes stops at Mary Washington and Frostburg State.