YORK, PA – York College junior guard Jared Wagner hit a long three pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:13 left in the game as the Spartans went on to upended #15 Johns Hopkins 78-72 in an exciting regional match up at Charles Wolf Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon. Wagner's three gave the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish after a back-and-forth contest. York outscored the Blue Jays 7-1 over the final 1:17 of the game to earn the hard-fought win.  

Game #2

Final Score: York 78, #15 Johns Hopkins 72

Records: York 2-0, JHU 1-1

Field Goals: York 27-for-53, JHU 23-for-46

Field Goal %: York 50.9%, JHU 50%

Three Point FG: York 8-for-23, JHU 12-for-26

Three Point FG %: York 34.8%, JHU 46.2%

Free Throws: York 16-for-19, JHU 14-for-19

Free Throw %: York 84.2%, JHU 73.7%

Rebounds: York 23, JHU 28

Assists: York 11, JHU 15

Turnovers: York 9, JHU 18

Blocked Shots: York 1, JHU 3

Steals: York 10, JHU 7

How It Happened

• The game could not have started out better for Hopkins as they blitzed the Spartans with an 11-0 run over the first 2:16 of the game. The Blue Jays got a pair of three pointers from Joey Kern to race out to the early lead.

• York regained their footing and answered the Hopkins run with a 15-0 spurt of their own. Joey Polczynski started the run with a three pointer and Jared Wagner followed with a another triple. The run was punctuated by dunks from Marcus Dudzenski and Darin Gordon as the Spartans seized a four-point lead.

• The remaining 13 minutes of the first half featured tremendous back-and-forth basketball. Kern tied the game for the Blue Jays with a free throw with 11:54 left and that would be the second tie of the half. The teams would be tied five more times in the half before Michael Gardner hit a layup with 30 second remaining in the stanza as the Blue Jays took a 43-41 lead to the break.

• The first half stats couldn't have been closer. Both teams were 16-for-27 from the floor and both teams made four free throws. The Blue Jays had seven three pointers while York had just five for the half, accounting for the two point Hopkins lead. Both squads had 18 points in the paint as there were seven ties and two lead changes in the stanza.

• The Blue Jays got another three from Kern early in the second half to push out to a five-point lead. The Spartans came back and eventually took a 53-51 lead on a Wagner three with 12:32 left in the game. The game again became a back and forth affair as there were eight more ties over the next ten minutes with the final tie coming thanks to a Polczynski free throw with 2:34 left in the game, setting the stage for Wagner's heroics.

• With the score tied at 71, the Spartans forced a Blue Jay miss but Kern got a huge offensive rebound to earn a fresh possession. After a Blue Jay timeout, Kern missed a three and Jason Bady collected the defensive rebound. On the ensuing Spartan possession, Wagner missed a tough jumper but senior Mike Frauenheim came up with the biggest play of the game, as he collected the offensive rebound to keep possession for York with just over two seconds on the shot clock. The Spartans inbounded the ball to Bady who quickly kicked it to Wagner who buried the ridiculous three, giving York the 74-71 lead.

• York forced a Blue Jay turnover with 33 seconds left as Darin Gordon came up with the steal. Wagner again found the ball in his hands as he took a three that was off the mark. Bady came swooping in, got the offensive board and put it back in while in the air for the bucket. He was fouled in the process and converted the three-point play to give York a 77-71 lead with 21 seconds left. The teams traded single free throws over the final 12 seconds to provide for York's six-point win.

Spartan Leaders

Jared Wagner: 33 points, 4-for-8 3PT FG, 9-for-10 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Jason Bady: 17 points, 6-for-9 FG, 4-for-5 FT, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

Darin Gordon: 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals

Joey Polczynski: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Blue Jay Leaders

Joey Kern: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals

Braeden Johnson: 17 points, 6-for-9 FG, 4-for-7 3PT, 2 rebounds

Michael Gardner: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3-for-4 3PT FG, 5-for-8 FG, 1 assist

Connor Delaney: 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

Game Notes:

The Spartans now hold a 6-1 lead in the all-time series against the Blue Jays as York has now won two straight in the limited series … the 33 points for junior Jared Wagner is a new career high and is the highest individual total since last December when Blayde Reich went for 44 points in the December 30 win at Washington and Lee … Wagner's previous career high was 21 at Penn State Harrisburg on February 8, 2018 … Wagner made a career-high four three point field goals in the victory … the Blue Jays finished the game shooting 50% from the floor and that's just the fourth time in the last 31 games that York has allowed an opponent that much success from the field … the 12 three-pointers allowed are the most since Salisbury hit 13 against York on February 10 … York is now 2-0 against the Centennial Conference this year as they still have three more games against the league (@ Gettysburg, vs. F&M, @ Swarthmore) … York went 3-0 against the Centennial Conference last year … senior Jason Bady was two points short of tying his career high of 19 points, a total he has reached twice … York is now 3-1 against nationally ranked squads in the last two years.

Up Next:

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday night when they travel west on Route 30 to face the Gettysburg College Bullets in their annual non-conference contest. Tip time from Bream Gymnasium is set for 8:00 pm.