YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team celebrated senior day in grand fashion as the Spartans outlasted the Christopher Newport Captains 101-97 in a Capital Athletic Conference slugfest on Saturday in York. Senior Jared Wagner had a career day in the win with 38 points to lead four Spartans in double figures. The Spartans are now tied with the Captains atop the Capital Athletic Conference as both squads have two remaining games in the regular season. The Spartans extended their win streak to a season-high eight while the Captains saw their own win streak get snapped at 11.
Prior to the game, York celebrated their four seniors who have now combined to win 81 games.
Records
York (Pa.): 18-5, 7-1 CAC
Christopher Newport: 18-5, 7-1 CAC
Team Stats
Score: York 101, Christopher Newport 97
FG: York 28-for-66 (42.8%), CNU 31-for-4 (41.9%)
3PT FG: York 5-for-27 (18.5%), CNU 16-for-40 (40%)
FT: York 40-for-54 (74.1%), CNU 19-for-31 (61.3%)
Rebounds: York 46, CNU 51
Assists: York 9, CNU 20
Turnovers: York 12, CNU 19
Blocked Shots: York 3, CNU 2
Steals: York 6, CNU 4
How It Happened:
• The first half was back and forth in the first nine minutes of the game as the score was tied at 18. The Spartans used the next 11 minutes of the game to outscore the Captains 21-5 to forge a 39-23 lead with just under a minute left in the half. The Spartans would settle for a 39-25 lead at the break.
• The Spartans came out of the break and got a Jared Wagner three to take a game-high 17 point lead. The York lead would bounce between nine and 16 points over the next ten minutes of play. CNU's top sniper from long range, Jason Aigner, fouled out with 9:37 left in the game and the Spartans up 14. Aigner's disqualification from the game seemed to light a fire under the Captains as they came all the way back, erasing the Spartan lead and tying the game at 64 on a Luther Gibbs three with 3:39 left in regulation. The game was tied again at 66 and 68. The Spartans got four free throws from Darin Gordon in their next two possessions as York led by four with 1:34 left. Keyshawn Jefferson hit a three pointer on CNU's next possession to trim York's lead to one. David Giuliani pushed the lead back to three on a layup off a well-placed lob pass from Gordon. Adrian Beasley answered with a three pointer to tie the game at 74 with 39 seconds left. The Spartans missed their attempt to take the lead and Dalon McHugh had a chance to win it for the Captains from the corner but his shot was off the mark and the teams headed to overtime.
• The Captains got a Cutch Ellis three off the opening tap to take the early lead. Wagner answered with a three point play to tie the game for the seventh time. There would be four lead changes and three ties over the next four minutes. York led 87-84 on a pair of Wagner free throws with 1:16 left in the first overtime. Jefferson split a pair of free throws on the next CNU possession. York turned the ball over against the press and Jefferson was fouled with 23 seconds left. He made both free throws, tying the game at 87. Gordon had a good look from three to win the game but his shot was just a tick long as the teams headed to a second overtime.
• The Captains started the second overtime with a Beasley three as they jumped on top early. The Spartans tied the game at 90 and it was tied again at 92. The Spartans took the lead for good as Riley Dobraniecki hit a huge three from the corner to put York up 95-92 with 2:36 remaining on the clock. York pushed the lead to four as Gordon split a pair of free throws. Brock Geiman sliced the lead to one with a three pointer. York's Joe Polczynski split a pair of free throws to push the lead back to two. After York got a stop, Dobraniecki hit a layup and was fouled to put York up 99-95. The Spartans eventually pushed the lead to five before Geiman hit a layup to cut the Spartan advantage to three. Wagner split a pair of free throws in the final three seconds to provide for the final four point margin of victory.
Spartan Leaders:
Jared Wagner: 38 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 19-for-25 FT
Logan Collins: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals, 8-for-8 FT
David Giuliani: 15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Darin Gordon: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Captain Leaders:
Luther Gibbs: 18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 blocked shot, 2 steals
Keyshawn Jefferson: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Adrian Beasley: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Cutch Ellis: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 blocked shot
Notes:
The Spartans have now won three straight against CNU at Wolf Gymnasium … the two teams split their final regular season CAC meetings … the Captains hold an 13-5 all-time lead in the series … the Spartans set a school record with their 40 made free throws and their 54 attempts … Jared Wagner set a new school record with 19 made free throws in a school-record 25 attempts … CNU shot a blistering 64% (9-for-14) from three in the second half as they outscored York 49-35 in the second 20 minutes of play … CNU went 4-for-17 (23.5%) from three in the first half … York's 18.5% success rate on three pointers was their second lowest percentage of the year (16.7% vs. Franklin and Marshall) … York was called for 26 fouls in the game, their second highest total of the year (33 at Roanoke) … York tied a season-low with just nine assists in the game (9 at Roanoke) … York improves to 10-1 at home … the Spartans are now 13-2 when leading at the half … the Spartans are now 10-2 when shooting above 70% from the line in game … York was outrebounded for the tenth time this year and the second time in the last three games … York placed four players in double figures and are now 17-3 when placing at least three players in double digits … York had less assists than their opponents for just the third time this year … Wagner set a new career-high with 38 points, eclipsing his previous high against nationally ranked Marietta of 35 … Wagner now sits 12th on the all-time scoring list as he passed former teammate Matt Scamuffo (1,386 points) as Wagner now has 1,392 points … freshman Logan Collins played a career-high 44 minutes and responded with a career-high 18 points … Collins was 5-for-8 from the floor while he made all eight of his free throw attempts … junior David Giuliani notched his fifth double-double of the year as he set a new career-high with 13 rebounds … senior Darin Gordon celebrated senior day with his fifth straight double figures effort with his 14 points … Gordon went to the line a career high ten times as he made nine of those attempts … prior to the game, Wagner, Gordon, Joe Polczynski and Zach Novick were honored for their contributions to the Spartan program … the foursome was joined by senior student-assistant coach Kyle Abrahims who has been a member of the program for the last four year … the senior class has combined to win 81 games, six wins short of the school record of 87 set by the 2007-08 senior class.
Up Next
The Spartans are now off until next Saturday as they will head to Mary Washington for their final regular season road game of the year. Tip time in Fredericksburg is set for 3:00 pm at the Rosner Arena.