YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team used a 53-point first half to cruise past Salisbury University 91-71 in a Capital Athletic Conference contest from Wolf Gymnasium on Wednesday evening. The win was the fifth straight for the Spartans and featured a near triple-double from senior Jared Wagner.
Records
York (Pa.): 15-5 (4-1 CAC)
Salisbury: 8-12 (2-3 CAC)
Team Stats
Score: York 91, Salisbury 71
FG: York 32-for-64 (50%), SAL 27-for-66 (40.9%)
3PT FG: York 11-for-27 (40.7%), SAL 8-for-27 (29.6%)
FT: York 16-for-22 (72.7%), SAL 9-for-15 (60%)
Rebounds: York 44, SAL 36
Assists: York 15, SAL 14
Turnovers: York 13, SAL 12
Blocked Shots: York 3, SAL 1
Steals: York 7, SAL 9
How It Happened:
• Salisbury got off to a great start in the game as they hit four three-pointers in the opening five and a half minutes of play as the Sea Gulls led 16-9 with 14:21 left in the half. The Spartans battled back and tied the game at 19 on a Jared Wagner three pointer just over four minutes later. The Sea Gulls took a brief 21-19 lead but the Spartans embarked on a prolonged 32-9 run to push out to a 51-28 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half. Salisbury's Mike Ward scored five of the final seven points of the half as York took a 53-33 lead to the intermission.
• In the opening half, York outscored the Sea Gulls 24-12 in the paint while they also had a 12-6 advantage in fast break points. The Green and White shot a blistering 56.8% from the floor while they converted 8-of-15 from three. Conversely, the Sea Gulls shot just 41.9% from the floor while they did make 6-of-12 from distance.
• The Spartans came out of the intermission and pushed their lead to a game-high 26 on a Darin Gordon fast break layup just under five minutes into the half. The Sea Gulls started pressing and were able to trim York's lead to 13 on a Lucas Martin layup with 6:14 left in the game. York answered with a 9-2 run to push the lead back to 20 on a pair of David Giuliani free throws with 3:52 left in the game. Salisbury cut the lead back to 15 with just under two minutes left but the Spartans scored the final five points of the game for the 20-point victory.
Spartan Leaders:
Jared Wagner: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal
David Giuliani: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists
Darin Gordon: 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals
Joe Polczynski: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot
Sea Gull Leaders:
Gary Bridell: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Mike Ward: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Johnny Fierstein: 8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists
Notes:
The Spartans have knotted the all-time series between the two teams at 38 wins each … York has now won four straight against Salisbury … the Spartans improved to 8-1 at Wolf Gymnasium … York is now 11-2 when leading at the half … the Spartans are 12-1 when shooting better than 45% from the floor in a game … York is now 11-0 when shooting better than 35% from three … York is now 12-0 when winning the battle on the glass … York is 12-2 when turning the ball over less than 15 times … the 20-point win is York's ninth 20-point victory of the year … York shot over 50% from the floor for the tenth time this year … York has made double figures in threes in their last four straight games and 13 times during the campaign … York won the rebounding battle for the third straight game … senior Jared Wagner narrowly missed the Spartans' first triple-double during the CAC-era (1989) … Wagner finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists … Wagner now has 1,319 points which ranks him 14th on the all-time scoring list, just two points behind Paul Kouvaris … Wagner also passed the 500 career assist mark with his eighth assist of the night … his is just the second player in Spartan history to eclipse the 500 assist mark … Wagner also grabbed his 500th career rebound with his tenth board of the night … his 11 rebounds were just one carom short of tying his career-high that he set last season at home against St. Mary's and was matched earlier this year at Christopher Newport … junior David Giuliani notched his fourth double-double of the year with his 17 points and 12 rebounds … Giuliani's 12 rebounds matched his career-high that was set earlier this season in back-to-back games against Albertus Magnus and Marymount … senior Darin Gordon notched his second straight double figure scoring game and his sixth for the year … Gordon is shooting 57.9% (11-for-19) from the floor in his last two games while he is also 6-for-13 from three and 7-for-10 from the stripe … senior Joe Polczynski notched his fourth straight game in double figures with his 12 points in the win.
Up Next
The Spartans conclude their season-high four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon as the host Southern Virginia University in a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 3:00 pm.