NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The York College men's basketball team opened Capital Athletic Conference play with a 79-68 loss at Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia on Friday afternoon. The Captains have won five straight as they captured the first of the two meetings between the teams this season.

Records

York (Pa.): 10-5 (0-1 CAC)

Christopher Newport: 12-4 (1-0 CAC)

Team Stats

Score: York 68, Christopher Newport 79

FG: York 27-for-69 (39.1%), CNU 30-for-62 (48.4%)

3PT FG: York 7-for-21 (33.3%), CNU 7-for-23 (30.4%)

FT: York 7-for-19 (36.8%), CNU 12-for-20 (60.0%)

Rebounds: York 43, CNU 44

Assists: York 10, CNU 15

Turnovers: York 17, CNU 19

Blocked Shots: York 3, CNU 4

Steals: York 12, CNU 7

How It Happened:

• The Spartans could not have gotten off to a better start in the game. York's Jared Wagner scored the first eight points of the game as York 8-0 just 2:07 into the game. The Captains started working their way back into the game at tied the contest at 14 thanks to five straight points from Liam Harrington. The Captains took an 18-15 lead on a Dalon McHugh jumper but York scored five the of the next six points to take a 20-19 advantage. The teams traded baskets before the Captains fashioned a game-changing 9-2 run over the final 4:30 of the first half. York's lone bucket came from Joe Polczynski with 57 seconds left in the half.

• The Spartans shot just 31.3% in the first half as they coughed up 11 turnovers which the Captains turned into 11 points. CNU shot 43.3% in the first 20 minutes as they took a six-point lead to the break.

• The Captains surged early in the second half as they pushed the lead to ten just under three minutes into the second half. The Captain advantage pushed to 12 before York cut it to six on a pair of David Giuliani layups followed by another Polczynski bucket. The Captains answered by clamping down on the Spartan offense as they ripped of a prolonged 10-0 run over the next four minutes of play. The lead grew to a game-high 18 two minutes later as the Captains led 62-44.

• The daunting deficit didn't deter the Spartans as they battled to get back into the game. York cut the lead to 11 on a Wagner layup with 3:12 left in the game. However, the Captains had an answer for each York run as the Green and White couldn't get closer than 11 over the final two minutes of play.

Spartan Leaders:

Jared Wagner: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals

David Giuliani: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals

Logan Collins: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals

Joe Polczynski: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Captain Leaders:

Dalon McHugh: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists

Nick Parks: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals

Luther Gibbs: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists

Ian Anderson: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shot, 1 steal

Cutch Ellis: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Notes:

The Spartans are now 4-13 all-time against the Captains though CNU holds a slight 4-3 edge in the series in the last seven meetings … the Spartans and Captains have played in the last two CAC Championship games with each team winning one … York finished the game shooting 39.1% from the floor, their third lowest total of the year … York has lost all three games in which they shoot less than 40% from the field … York finished the game with 17 turnovers and that's just the fifth time they have been over 16 this year … in their five losses, the Spartans are shooting 41.3% from the floor, 30.6% from three and 57.7% from the line … for the year, York is shooting 49.5% from the field, 34.9% from three and 66.2% from the stripe … the Spartan's 7-for-19 (36.8%) performance from the stripe is their second worst shooting night at the stripe this year (30% at Johns Hopkins) … the Spartans five losses have come to teams with a combined record of 53-12 (Roanoke 9-4; Johns Hopkins 10-2; Marietta 11-1; Albertus Magnus 11-1; Christopher Newport 12-4) … the Spartans had a pair of double-doubles in the game as Jared Wagner recorded his team-leading sixth of the year while David Giuliani added his third … Wagner went over 20 points for the seventh time this year and for the third time in the last four games … Wagner tied a career-high with his 12 rebounds in the game while he also had six assists and three steals … Giuliani has cranked it up on the glass as he has pulled in 34 rebounds in his last three games … his 10 boards come off of back-to-back 12 rebound games for the Green and White … Giuliani also had a career-high three steals in the game … the trip to the Freeman Center was the final regular season trip for the Spartans as members of the Capital Athletic Conference as the Spartans head to the MAC next season.

Up Next

The Spartans continue their three-game road trip to open the Capital Athletic Conference season on Wednesday as they head to St. Mary's City to face the Seahawks in a league contest. Tip time from the ARC is set for 7:00 pm.