YORK, PA – York College junior guard Jared Wagner hit a driving lay-up with 4.9 seconds left to lift the Spartans to a stunning 82-81 Capital Athletic Conference win over #15 Christopher Newport in front of a big crowd at Wolf Gymnasium on Saturday. Wagner's bucket erased a 13-point second half CNU lead as York has now won five of their last six games.
Game #19
Final Score: York (Pa.) 82, #15 CNU 81
Records: York 13-6 (6-2 CAC), CNU 16-3 (6-2 CAC)
Field Goals: York 24-for-54, CNU 27-for-54
Field Goal %: York 44.4%, CNU 50%
Three Point FG: York 6-for-22, CNU 10-for-22
Three Point FG %: York 27.3%, CNU 45.5%
Free Throws: York 28-for-35, CNU 17-for-28
Free Throw %: York 80%, CNU 60.7%
Rebounds: York 33, CNU 35
Assists: York 7, CNU 13
Turnovers: York 14, CNU 16
Blocked Shots: York 2, CNU 1
Steals: York 10, CNU 6
How It Happened
• The Captains jumped on the Spartans early as they raced out to an 18-8 lead just over six minutes into the game. The Captains eventually built their first half lead to 11 on a Tyler Femi triple just over 30 seconds later. The Spartans responded with a quick 7-0 run to cut CNU's lead to four with 12 minutes left in the half.
• The Captains pushed their lead back to nine on a Jason Aigner three at the 8:27 mark. The Green and White chipped away at the CNU advantage, cutting it to two on a Jason Bady three with 5:07 left in the half. CNU quickly pushed it back to seven with another Aigner three. The Captain lead bounced between four and seven points before York fashioned a 9-0 run to take a 48-46 lead with under a minute left. Dalon McHugh split a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left in the half as York took a 48-47 to the locker room after trailing for a large majority of the first half.
• The Spartans came out of the break and were ice cold from the field. Fortunately for York, the Captains were cold from the field too as CNU slowly built a five-point lead just under five minutes into the half. The Captains eventually pushed the lead to 13 on yet another Aigner three with 9:35 left in regulation.
• The CNU lead vacillated between seven and 12 points over the next eight minutes as the Captains appeared to be in complete control of the game. The Spartans trimmed the lead to six on a Bady three-point play with 1:46 left in the game. The Captains answered with two Elijah Bowens free throws with 50 seconds remaining as CNU led 81-74. That's when it started to get interesting.
• After a CNU timeout, Jared Wagner drew a foul but converted just one of two, cutting the lead to six at 81-75. The Spartans forced a Captain turnover on the ensuing inbounds play and Wagner converted a lay-up and was fouled. He hit the free throw as York trailed by four. The Spartans forced a second consecutive turnover on the next Captain possession as York had the ball with 34 seconds left. Wagner finished off another lay-up, drawing York to one, 81-80. CNU took another timeout and was forced to foul. Nick Parks missed the first free throw and the Spartans called timeout to ice Parks. He missed the second free throw and Joey Polczynski grabbed the rebound. He kicked the ball to Wagner who drove to the basket and hit a lay-up with 4.9 seconds left. After a stoppage to check the clock, the Captains inbounded the ball and Femi's 30-footer at the horn was well left of the mark as the Spartans escaped with the improbable win.
Spartan Leaders
Jason Bady: 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 12-for-13 FT
Jared Wagner: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 12-for-15 FT
Joey Polczynski: 11 rebounds, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal
Captain Leaders
Cutch Ellis: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 8-for-8 FT
Jason Aigner: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal, 4-for-6 3PT FG
Dalon McHugh: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Elijah Bowens: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Game Notes:
The teams split their two regular season games with CNU earning a two point win in Newport News while the Spartans earned a one point victory at home … the Spartans still trail the all-time series 11-4 against CNU but York has won two of the last three meetings … the Captains played without the services of preseason All-American Marcus Carter who missed the game due to a knee injury suffered in Wednesday's win over Salisbury … the Spartans are now tied with the Captains and Mary Washington at the top of the Capital Athletic Conference standings as all three teams are 6-2 … the Captains are ranked 15th in the nation according the D3hoops.com national poll … the Spartans converted a season low six three-point field goals in the win … York attempted 22 three pointers, the second lowest total of the year … York tied a season-low with seven assists … the Spartans shot a blistering 56% from the field in the first half but then converted 34.5% (10-for-29) in the second half … York made 28 free throws, their second highest total of the season as they shot 80% from the line … York has shot 80% or better in six games this year … York biggest lead in the game was three points … CNU led for 33:07 play while York led for a mere 3:48 of play while the game was tied for 3:05 … there were three ties and four lead changes in the game … senior Jason Bady tallied 30 points for the second time this year and the second time in the last four games … Bady tied his career-high with 12 free throws made in the win as he went 12-for-13 from the stripe … Bady ranks third in the league in scoring (18.1 ppg) and fourth in the league in rebounding (7.5 rpg) … junior Jared Wagner notched his fifth 20-plus point performance in the victory … Wagner scored the final nine points of the game for the Spartans … junior Joey Polczynski set a new career-high with 11 rebounds for the Spartans, besting his previous best of 10 set in the season-opener against Dickinson … sophomore David Giuliani chipped in eight points in the game after scoring a career-high 10 points in the Wednesday win over Frostburg State.
Up Next:
The Spartans conclude their three-game home stand on Wednesday evening when they host Penn State Harrisburg in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Tip time is set for 8:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gymnasium.