NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The York College men's basketball team used a hot shooting performance and placed five players in double figures as York earned the program's third Capital Athletic Conference tournament championship with an 82-73 win at top seeded Christopher Newport on Saturday in Newport News, Virginia.
The Spartans trailed midway through the second half but used a 19-3 run to take control of the game. York went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 1:50 of the game to secure the road win.
The win avenged a ten-point loss that came at CNU just a week ago as the Green and White earned their first tournament championship since 2011-12.
Game #27 – CAPITAL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Records: #12 York 23-4, CNU 21-6
Final Score: York 82, CNU 73
Field Goals: York 30-for-53, CNU 26-for-60
Field Goal %: York 56.6%, CNU 43.3%
Three Point FG: York 6-for-13, CNU 9-for-25
Three Point FG%: York 46.2%, CNU 36.0%
Free Throws: York 16-for-22, CNU 12-for-18
Free Throw %: York 72.7%, CNU 66.7%
Rebounds: York 30, CNU 33
Assists: York 14, CNU 9
Turnovers: York 13, CNU 13
Blocked Shots: York 2, CNU 4
Steals: York 6, CNU 6
How It Happened:
• The Spartans got off to a much better start than last Saturday in Newport News. Last Saturday in the regular season finale, the Spartans found themselves down 15-2 to start the game. While the Spartans eventually climbed back in the game, they were unable to fend off the Captains in the second half.
• This Saturday, the Spartans pushed out to a 13-7 lead just over five minutes into the game. The Captains cut the Spartan lead to one but York went on a 14-4 run that gave the Green and White an 11-point lead with 5:07 left in the half. The run was fueled almost exclusively by senior Blayde Reich. The senior forward poured in 12 points on the run as he put the Spartans on his back to take control of the game. CNU trimmed the lead to five but senior Matt Scamuffo hit three pointers in back to back possessions to quickly push the lead to 12 with 1:44 left in the half. The Captains would get a three pointer with 42 seconds left as York settled for the 35-26 lead at the break.
• The Captains came out of the half and smacked the Spartans with a 16-5 run as they took a 42-40 lead with 15:12 left in the game. The teams would go back and forth in the ensuing eight minutes as there were six lead changes and five ties. With the Captains up 57-55, Scamuffo completed a tough three-point play with 7:36 left in the game and the Spartans would lead the rest of the way. Scamuffo's three-point play kick started a 19-3 run that turned their two-point deficit into a 74-60 lead with 1:50 left in the game.
• The Captains cut the lead to nine on three different occasions in the final two minutes but York went a clutch 8-for-8 from the stripe to secure the victory. Mike Frauenheim went 4-for-4 from the line at the end of the game while Jason Bady and Jared Wagner each drilled a pair for York. York went 13-for-17 from the line in the second half while they also shot 55.2% from the field as they scored 47 second half points.
Spartan Leaders:
Blayde Reich: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 22 minutes, 10-for-16 FG, 2-for-3 3PT FG, 3-for-4 FT
Jason Bady: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 40 minutes
Matt Scamuffo: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 35 minutes
Jared Wagner: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-for-4 FG, 1-for-1 3PT FG, 2-for-4 FT
Dalton Myers: 10 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot
Christopher Newport Leaders:
Brock Geiman: 21 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 8-for-13 FG, 4-for-8 3PT FG, 1-for-2 FT
Aaron McFarland: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6-for-14 FG, 1-for-4 3PT FG, 2-for-2 FT
Cutch Ellis: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals
Nick Parks: 6 points, 10 rebounds
Game Notes:
The Spartans had never won at the Freeman Center as they entered the game having gone 0-5 in the building since the Captains joined the conference … York is now 3-10 all-time against the Captains but 1-0 in conference tournament games … the championship is York's third overall joining the 2004-05 and 2011-12 teams as conference champions … the Spartans have won their last three conference championship games after losing their first three (1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95) … the 82 points are the most for the Spartans in a CAC championship game … York won the 2011-12 title on the road at Mary Washington as York is now 2-2 in CAC championship games on the road … the Spartans shot 56.6% from the floor for the game and that's their highest shooting percentage of the year … York has been over 50% from the floor in 12 of their 27 games for the season … York went 6-for-13 from three and that is the lowest number of attempts for the season while the 46.2% accuracy mark is fifth time they have been over 45% in a game … York is now 17-1 when leading at the half … the Spartans are now 18-0 when shooting over 45% from the field in a game … York is now 15-1 when shooting 35% or better from three … the Spartans are now 6-0 when having five players reach double figures … York had 13 turnovers and the Spartans are 12-1 when committing 15 turnovers or less … the Spartans had 14 assists and 13 turnovers and York is now 14-0 when having more assists than turnovers in a game … the three Spartan seniors, Dalton Myers, Matt Scamuffo, and Blayde Reich, have played great all year but have ramped it up in the post season … the three combined for 48 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in Saturday's win after totaling 41 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists in the semifinal win over Salisbury … Myers remains ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,461 points … Scamuffo remains in 12th place as he now has 1,343 points … Reich moved up into 20th place all-time as he now has 1,127 points for his career … junior Jason Bady had himself a fantastic CAC tournament as the guard tallied 31 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and seven steals … Reich's 25 points marks the ninth time this year he has gone over 20 points in a game … Bady's 16 points marks the 15th time this year he has gone over double figures in a game including four of the last five games … sophomore Jared Wagner notched his first double figure effort in the last five games as he now has 15 double figure scoring games … York is ranked 12th in the D3hoops.com national poll … the Spartans are ranked first in the Middle Atlantic Regional rankings as CNU entered the game as the second ranked team in the region … York is now 23-21 all-time in the CAC tournament … CNU is now 8-3 all-time in the CAC Tournament … York's 23 wins are the most since the 2005-06 squad went 25-4 overall.
Up Next:
The Spartans will now wait for Monday's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament selection show to see who and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament. This will be the Spartans' fifth NCAA Tournament appearance. The show is set for a 12:30 pm start on www.ncaa.com.