ALLIANCE, OHIO – The York College men's basketball team saw their outstanding 2019-20 campaign come to an end as #5 Mount Union downed the Spartans 90-77 in the second round of the 2020 NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday night in Alliance, Ohio. The Spartans saw their 13-game win streak snapped while the Purple Raiders extend their win streak to 19 as they advance to face Wittenberg in the Sweet 16 next weekend.

The Purple Raiders' Nathan Bower-Malone exploded for a school-record 53 points in the victory for Mount Union.

Records

#25 York (Pa.): 23-6

#5 Mount Union: 27-3

Team Stats

Score: York 77, Mount Union 90

FG: York 27-for-69 (39.1%), UMU 29-for-60 (48.3%)

3PT FG: York 14-for-36 (38.9%), UMU 10-for-19 (52.6%)

FT: York 9-for-13 (69.2%), UMU 22-for-28 (78.6%)

Rebounds: York 37, UMU 41

Assists: York 15, UMU 12

Turnovers: York 12, UMU 11

Blocked Shots: York 6, UMU 4

Steals: York 5, UMU 7

How It Happened:

• The Spartans found themselves in a hole early as the Purple Raiders raced out to a 21-10 lead just over seven minutes into the game. The Green and White began their climb back into the game as they leveled the score at 27 on a Logan Collins jumper with five minutes left in the first half. The Spartans eventually took a 30-29 lead on a Joe Polczynski three with 3:11 left in the stanza.

• The Purple Raiders responded emphatically as they outscored York 9-0 over the final three minutes of the half as they took a 38-30 lead to the break. The Spartans held the Purple Raiders to 36.4% shooting from the floor in the first half but Mount Union made 6-of-12 from three while the Raiders held a 8-0 edge in made free throws in the first half. Nathan Bower-Malone was fantastic in the first half for Mount Union as he tallied 21 points as he was 6-for-8 from the floor, 4-for-4 from three and 5-for-6 at the line.

• The Raiders came out and hit the first basket of the half to push the lead to ten. However, the Spartans responded by scoring 11 of the game's next 15 points to draw to within three at 44-41. That would be a reoccurring theme in the second half as Mount Union would start to pull away only to have the Spartans close the gap.

• The Purple Raider lead was nine with 11:37 left but the Spartans went on a 12-5 run, trimming their deficit to two at 62-60 with 8:33 left in the game. The Purple Raiders answered big as they ripped off a 15-2 run, essentially ending the game with just under two minutes left. York continued to battle but they were forced to foul and Mount Union was steady at the line, converting 8-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes of the game.

Spartan Leaders:

Jared Wagner: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal

Darin Gordon: 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals

David Giuliani: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals

Joe Polczynski: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Purple Raider Leaders:

Nathan Bower-Malone: 53 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot, 3 steals, 15-for-21 FG, 7-for-8 3PT FG, 16-for-19 FT

Braedon Poole: 10 points, 1 assist

D'Vontay Friga: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot

John Carrol: 9 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots

Notes:

The Spartans are now 1-1 all-time against Mount Union … York falls to 7-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … the Spartans have won their last three first round games and dropped their last three second round games … senior Darin Gordon closed out his career with a flourish as he reached 16 points in his final game wearing the Green and White … Gordon averaged over 16 points per game in all four post-season games for the Spartans … Gordon finished the year reaching double figures in ten of his last 11 games … junior David Giuliani narrowly missed out on his eighth double-double of the year as he had 15 points and nine rebounds … Giuliani averaged 16.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in York's four post-season games … senior Jared Wagner closed out one of the great careers in Spartan history … he eclipsed 1,500 career points in the game as he concludes his career ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,505 points … he leaves York with his name all over the record books as he ranks first in career free throws (467), first in steals (288), first in games played (115), second in assists (554), third in games started (98), fourth in total minutes (3,385), ninth in points, tenth in rebounds, and tenth in blocked shots (61) … Wagner also owns career single-game records for free throws made (158),  and assists (202) while he is second in minutes played (1,007 last year), steals (81), and free throw attempts (215).

Up Next

The loss closes the careers of one of the most successful classes in school history. The senior class consisting of Jared Wagner, Darin Gordon, Joe Polczynski, and Zach Novick combined to go 86-29, good for a winning percentage of 74.7%. They ended one win short of tying the school record for wins by the 2007-08 senior class. The Spartan seniors captured three straight Capital Athletic Conference regular season championships, two CAC Tournament championships and have made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The Spartans have also won 20 or more games for a record three straight years. They will go down as one of the most accomplished classes in Spartan history.