YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball squad went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game as the Spartans held off a spirited come back attempt by St. Mary's College, 81-78, in Capital Athletic Conference action in York.
The Spartans, who led by as many as 17 in the second half, held off a late charge by St. Mary's as the Seahawks scored 55 second half points to make the game far more interesting their their overall record would have suggested. The Spartans finished their 2017-18 regular season home schedule with a mark of 10-1.
The win also allowed the Spartans to clinch a first round bye in the upcoming CAC tournament. York will play Saturday for a chance to capture the regular season championship.
Game #24
Records: #8 York 21-3 (14-3 CAC), St. Mary's 3-21 (2-15 CAC)
Final Score: York 81, St. Mary's 78
Field Goals: York 27-for-51, St. Mary's 32-for-74
Field Goal %: York 51.9%, St. Mary's 43.2%
Three Point FG: York 10-for-26, St. Mary's 5-for-22
Three Point FG %: York 38.5%, St. Mary's 22.7%
Free Throws: York 17-for-21, St. Mary's 9-for-12
Free Throw %: York 81%, St. Mary's 75%
Rebounds: York 33, St. Mary's 37
Assists: York 16, St. Mary's 14
Turnovers: York 21, St. Mary's 14
Blocked Shots: York 5, St. Mary's 0
Steals: York 6, St. Mary's 12
How It Happened
• York got off to another great start as the Spartans sprinted out to a 9-0 lead. The Spartan lead grew to 11 at 16-5 on a pair of Matt Scamuffo free throws with 13:40 left in the half. York continued to build the lead as the Spartans went on a 7-0 run fueled by a pair of Jason Bady lay ups and a Dalton Myers three to push their advantage to 28-11 with 6:31 left in the half.
• The Spartan lead bounced between 13 and 17 points over the remainder of the first half as York took a 37-23 lead to the break. York held St. Mary's to 29.4% shooting in the first half but the Seahawks did collect nine offensive rebounds as they attempted seven more shots in the opening half.
• The Spartans maintained their lead in double figures over the opening 11 minutes of the second half. The lead reached 17 for a second time on a Myers' lay up with 12:02 left in the game as it looked like the Spartans were poised to put the three win Seahawks away. That would be far from the case as St. Mary's started to climb back into the game. Matt Ayoub hit a three pointer with 8:40 left in the game as the Seahawks got the lead back into single digits. Blayde Reich answered with a three of his own but the Seahawks scored six straight, cutting York's lead to six at 61-55.
• York pushed the lead back to 11 on a Joey Polczynski three and a Myers lay up on back-to-back possessions as the Spartans led 66-55 with 5:49 left.
• The York lead was 11 after Myers hit three free throws with 1:28 left as he was fouled on a three-point attempt. The Seahawks got four quick points as the Spartans had back-to-back turnovers as the lead was seven. Jared Wagner nailed a pair of free throws with 50 seconds left and those points were answered by a thee point play by Donovan Robinson with 37 seconds left as the York lead was six. After York missed a front end of a one-and-one, Ayoub hit a three pointer, cutting York's lead to three with 29 seconds left.
• Myers would get fouled and made both of his free throws but Ayoub answered with a back door lay up with 17 seconds left. Wagner was fouled and made his two free throws. Again, Ayoub answered with a lay up as the Spartan lead remained three with 16 seconds left. Myers was fouled and made a pair, pushing York's lead back to five. Robinson hit a lay up with 0.2 seconds left and the Spartans were called for a five second violation despite Myers clearly asking for a timeout. The Seahawks would not be able to get off a shot as York hung on for the win.
Spartan Leaders
Dalton Myers: 34 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 11-for-17 FG, 5-for-9 3PT FG, 7-for-7 FT
Blayde Reich: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocked shots
Jason Bady: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal, 6-for-7 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 2-for-2 FG
St. Mary's Leaders
Quentin Twyman: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals, 8-for-14 FG, 1-for-1 FT
Matt Ayoub: 17 points, 1 rebounds, 2 steals, 6-for-14 FG, 3-for-9 3PT FG, 2-for-2 FT
Donovan Robinson: 12 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds
Jamal Murphy: 7 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
Game Notes:
York has won four straight against the Seahawks as the Spartans are now 44-24 all-time against St. Mary's … senior Dalton Myers registered his second 30-plus point performance of the year as he finished with 34, one short of his career high which he set against Washington & Lee on December 30 … Myers climbed two spots on the all-time scoring list as he now sits ninth with 1,423 points as he passed former Spartan greats Steve Schmehl (2000-04) and Dave Martins (1995-2000) in the win … Myers now has 10 20-plus point efforts this year as he ranks second in the CAC in scoring at 18.1 points per game … senior Blayde Reich recorded his team-high fifth double-double of the year with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds … Reich has had double-doubles against Dickinson, Middlebury, Washington & Lee, and at Salisbury in addition to Wednesday's performance … junior Jason Bady had his 13th double figures effort of the year with his 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor including one three and 2-for-2 from the line … Bady also had eight rebounds and four assists … it's the seventh time this year that Bady has had at least eight rebounds … Bady has had 11 games with four assists for more … sophomore Jared Wagner dished out six assists and that's the eighth time this year that he has had six assists or more in a game … York finishes the regular season 10-1 at home … York is now 15-1 when leading at the half … the Spartans are 16-0 when shooting 45% or better from the field as they converted 51.9% in the win … York converted 10 three pointers as they have 11 games with double figure threes this year … St. Mary's took a whooping 22 more field goal attempts than the Spartans thanks to York's 21 turnovers and St. Mary's 18 offensive rebounds … St. Mary's outscored York 54-32 in the paint while they also turned York's 21 turnovers into 24 points … St. Mary's tallied 14 fast break points to just two for York … York shot better than 80% from the free throw line for the fifth time this year … the Spartans blocked five shots, their highest total since swatting away seven shots against Washington & Lee … York is ranked 8th in the d3hoops.com Week #11 poll … York clinched a home court game in the CAC semifinals on Thursday, February 22.
Up Next:
The Spartans wrap up their 2017-18 regular season with a trip to Christopher Newport with the number one seed and regular season championship on the line. A win gives York an outright league crown while a loss means the regular season title is split between the Spartans and Captains and CNU earns the top seed by virtue of their sweep of Salisbury in the CAC regular season. Tip time from Newport News is set for 8:00 pm.