NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The York College men's basketball team capped their run in the Capital Athletic Conference with a 79-77 win over Christopher Newport in the 2020 championship game at the Freeman Center. The championship is York's fourth and final title as the Green and White heads to the MAC on July 1. The game ends York's 29-year association with the CAC in men's basketball.
The win extends the Spartan win streak to 12 as they earn the conference's automatic berth to the 2020 NCAA Division III Tournament. The tournament field gets announced Monday afternoon at 12:30 pm.
Senior Darin Gordon was named the CAC Tournament MVP while Jared Wagner and David Giuliani joined him on the all-tournament team.
Records
York (Pa.): 22-5
Christopher Newport: 21-6
Team Stats
Score: York 79, Christopher Newport 77
FG: York 30-for-77 (39%), CNU 29-for-66 (43.9%)
3PT FG: York 12-for-45 (26.7%), CNU 9-for-27 (33.3%)
FT: York 7-for-9 (77.8%), CNU 10-for-16 (62.5%)
Rebounds: York 46, CNU 43
Assists: York 14, CNU 10
Turnovers: York 10, CNIU 11
Blocked Shots: York 5, CNU 5
Steals: York 8, CNU 3
How It Happened:
• The Captains got off to a quick start as they sprinted out to a 13-5 lead before the first media timeout. The Spartans tied the game at 17 on a Jared Wagner three pointer. The Captains responded by recapturing the lead and pushing it four before the Spartans tied the game for the third a time at 26. The game was tied again at 27, 30, and 33. Wagner was whistled for his second foul at the 3:54 mark and the Spartans down 38-35. Wagner checked out of the game for the remainder of the half and the Captains would outscore York 9-5 to take a 47-40 lead at the break.
• The first half featured six ties and ten lead changes as the teams went back and forth like a pair of championship boxers.
• The Captains kept the Spartans at bay early in the second half as CNU maintained their lead over the first nine minutes of the half. Darin Gordon gave York their first lead of the second half when he canned a three pointer in the middle of a 13-0 run that turned York's six-point deficit into a seven-point lead. The run was punctuated by David Giuliani as he hit his second three pointer of the game with 9:47 left in regulation.
• Gordon hit another three pointer at the 5:22 mark as the Spartan lead reached a game-high nine points. The Captains responded with a 9-0 spurt, tying the game at 71 with 2:22 remaining in the game. Cutch Ellis split a pair of free throws, giving the Captains a one point lead. York answered with another Gordon three to go up two. Ellis responded right back with a lay up at the 1:17 mark, tying the game at 74 for the eighth time. Not to be outdone, Gordon got the ball on the wing, pump faked and calmly drilled his fifth triple of the day to put York up 77-74 with just under a minute left.
• The Captains weren't done as Ellis made another big play for his squad as he converted a three-point play with 45 seconds remaining. York had their possession of the year in their next trip down the court. York had five shots and four offensive rebounds before Giuliani converted the fifth shot of the possession for the 79-77 lead with 19 seconds left.
• Wagner got the Spartans stop on the next possession as he blocked Luther Gibb's layup attempt with 14 seconds left. The Captains had to foul twice and the second time, they sent Wagner to the line for the one-and-one with 7.7 seconds left in the game. Wagner uncharacteristically missed the shot and the Captains Dalon McHugh rebounded. McHugh pushed the ball up the floor but mishandled it around midcourt. He recovered but the bobble allowed Giuliani to get out and block his championship winning three-point attempt with two seconds left. Giuliani grabbed the rebound and the Spartan bench sprinted out to celebrate the historic victory.
Spartan Leaders:
Jared Wagner: 28 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Darin Gordon: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 3PT FG
David Giuliani: 19 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots, 1 steal
Captain Leaders:
Jason Aigner: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
Luther Gibbs: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Cutch Ellis: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Nick Parks: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots
Notes:
The Spartans won their final two matchups against Christopher Newport as Capital Athletic Conference opponents … the Spartans have won two of the last three CAC Championship game match ups against the Captains with all three games coming at the Freeman Center … the Spartans have now won championships in 2004-05 (vs. Catholic), 2011-12 (at Mary Washington), 2017-18 (at CNU, and 2019-20 (at CNU) … The Spartans have won three of their four titles on the road … York is now 4-4 in CAC Championship game appearances … the Spartans will make their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and their seventh appearance overall … York is now 2-1 all-time against CNU in the CAC Tournament with all three appearances coming in championship games … York leaves the CAC with an all-time tournament record of 27-22 … senior Darin Gordon picked a great time to set a new career high as he poured in 23 points in the 112th game of his Spartan career … Gordon tied his career-high with his five three point field goals … Gordon is now third all-time in games played while he is ninth in three point field goals made (142) … junior David Giuliani set a new career high with his 21 rebounds in the game … the 21 rebounds are second on the single-game list, trailing only Jason Hunt's 22 boards in the road win at McDaniel in 1997 … Giuliani registered his sixth double-double of the year … senior Jared Wagner is now tied for first in career games played with 113 … Wagner's 28 point marks the 12th time this year that he has scored 20 points or more in a game … Wagner remains 10th in points on the all-time list as he now has 1,475 … Wagner trails former teammate Dalton Myers by 24 points for ninth place … Wagner set a new school record as he now has 190 assists for the year while his 79 steals this year ranks third on the single-season list … The Spartans won the battle on the glass 46-43 and they are now 15-0 this year when they win the rebounding war … York is now 8-3 on the road … their 12-game win streak is the longest since their 16-game win streak to open the 2017-18 season … the Spartan senior class is now 24-6 in the month of February as they completed this February with a mark of 7-0 … York is now 21-3 when they have at least three players reach double figures … the Spartans had just ten turnovers in the game and are now 18-2 when they have less than 15 turnovers in a game … York is now 15-1 when having more assists than turnovers.
Up Next
The Spartans will now wait to hear who and where they will play in the 2020 NCAA Division III Tournament which starts next Friday. The tournament announcement is scheduled for 12:30 pm on Monday afternoon. Please check back with www.ycpspartans.com for the most up-to-date Spartan tournament information.