SALISBURY, Md. – The York College men's basketball put together a huge second half and senior Jason Bady scored a career-high 35 points as the Spartans knocked off No. 24 Salisbury 90-75 in a key Capital Athletic Conference contest on Wednesday night in Salisbury. The Spartans have now won two straight at the Maggs Center after the Sea Gulls had won seven straight against York prior to last year's regular season meeting on the eastern shore.
The Spartans have now won a season-high four straight as they remain tied for first in the CAC.
Game #16
Final Score: York 90, No. 24 Salisbury 75
Records: York 11-5 (4-1 CAC), Salisbury 13-3 (3-2 CAC)
Field Goals: York 25-of-53, Salisbury 28-of-64
Field Goal %: York 47.2%, Salisbury 43.8%
Three Point FG: York 9-of-26, Salisbury 7-of-20
Three Point FG %: York 34.6%, Salisbury 35.0%
Free Throws: York 31-of-35, Salisbury 12-for-18
Free Throw %: York 88.6%, Salisbury 66.7%
Rebounds: York 40, Salisbury 26
Assists: York 15, Salisbury 8
Turnovers: York 17, Salisbury 13
Blocked Shots: York 6, Salisbury 1
Steals: York 7, Salisbury 7
How It Happened
• The game featured the two teams trading blows like a championship boxing match. The Spartans landed the first haymaker with the first five points of the game only to see the Sea Gulls rip off seven straight points. That set the tone of the game early and it didn't disappoint.
• The first half featured six ties and a whopping 17 lead changes. York's largest lead was five while Salisbury's biggest advantage was four. The Sea Gulls scored the final five points of the half to take a 43-41 lead to the break. The Sea Gulls shot a blistering 56.7% from the field in the first half but only held the two-point lead at the break. York stayed in the game at the free throw line as they went 10-of-13 from the stripe.
• The Green and White cranked up the defense to start the second half. They held the Sea Gulls scoreless over the first five minutes of the half as York pushed out to a nine point lead thanks to an 11-0 run to start the second half. The run was keyed by Jason Bady and Joey Polczynski as they combined to score all 11 points. Bady tallied six points on the run while Polczynski had five points as the Spartans seized control of the game.
• Salisbury cut the York lead to six with 13:30 left but the Spartans quickly pushed the advantage back to ten. The York lead bounced between eight and 12 points over the next six minutes before back-to-back dunks from Bady and Darin Gordon followed by a pair of Gordon free throws pushed York's lead to 14 with 4:54 left in the game.
• Salisbury cut the Spartan lead to nine on a Mike Ward lay up with 1:42 left in the game but that would be the last time they scored as the Spartans scored the final six points of the game to take home the 15-point road victory.
Spartan Leaders
Jason Bady: 35 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 2 steals, 11-for-15 FG, 12-for-13 FT
Joey Polczynski: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots, 5-for-10 FG, 3-for-3 FT
Darin Gordon: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, 6-for-6 FT
Jared Wagner: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Sea Gull Leaders
Mike Ward: 16 points, 2 rebounds, 6-for-12 FG
Johnny Fierstein: 14 points, 1 rebound
Blair Davis: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Marquis Roberson: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Game Notes:
The Spartans improve to 39-41 all-time against the Sea Gulls as York has won three of the last four against Salisbury including two straight at the Maggs Center … York improves to 5-3 on the road … York converted 31-of-35 from the free throw line for a blistering 88.6% for the game … the 31 makes were a season-high for the Spartans besting the previous high mark of 20 set in the loss to Richard Stockton … York tied their season high for rebounding advantage as they dominated the Sea Gulls on the glass 40-26, tying the mark set in the win over Delaware Valley … York's streak of making double digits in three pointers ended at three as they went 9-for-26 from distance … York held Salisbury to just 32.4% shooting in the second half after surrendering 56.7% shooting in the first half … Salisbury entered the game as the top shooting team in the CAC and finished the game shooting just 43.8% from the field … the loss was Salisbury's first home setback of the year … York outscored Salisbury 49-32 in the second half ... senior Jason Bady set a new career-high with his 35 points … the 35 points are the highest single-game total for the Spartans this season, two points better than Jared Wagner's 33 point effort in the win over Johns Hopkins … Bady has led the Spartans in scoring in nine games this year while his nine rebounds led the team for the tenth time this year … Bady's 35 points beat his previous career-high of 27 points set against Gwyendd-Mercy … Bady's 11 made field goals set a new career high while his 12 free throws were also a career-high … the 35 points are the most scored in a CAC game so far this year … junior Joey Polczynski reached double figures for the second straight game and the seventh time overall this year while his eight rebounds were tied for his second highest total of the year, two short of his career-high ten set in the season opener against Dickinson … junior Jared Wagner tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and five assists and that's the fifth time this year he has recorded at least ten points, five rebounds, and five assists … junior Darin Gordon tallied 15 points as he has reached double figures in scoring in six straight games.
Up Next:
The Spartans continue their road trip with a trek to Fredericksburg, Virginia to face the University of Mary Washington Eagles in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Tip time at the Anderson Center is set for 3:00 pm.