GRANTHAM, PA – The York College men's basketball team went on the road and earned a 77-68 win at Messiah University in MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday night in Grantham, PA. The Spartans now have their first win streak of the year as they had alternated wins and losses in their first seven games of the year. Senior Sean Kelly recorded a career-high 14 points as three Spartans reached double figures in the win.
Score: York 77, Messiah 68
Records: York 5-3 (2-1 MAC Commonwealth), Messiah 3-6 (1-2 MAC Commonwealth)
How It Happened
• York got off to a rough start as the Falcons started the game on a 12-2 run as the Spartans couldn't find the bottom of the net. The Spartans would outscore Messiah 17-7 over the next 6:37 of game time to tie the game at 19. York slowly started to pull away over the final nine minutes of the first half as they took a six-point lead at the break.
• The Spartans didn't light it up from the floor in the first half but they did a fantastic job of taking care of the ball as they committed just two turnovers. The Spartan bench was outstanding as they outscored their Messiah counterparts 19-3 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
• The second half was a grind for both teams. The Spartan lead vacillated between six and nine points until the Falcons cut the York lead to three thanks to a quick four-point spurt. York slowly built the lead back to ten on a David Giuliani lay-up with eight minutes left in the game. The Spartans eventually built the lead to a game-high 12 points on a pair of Sean Kelly free throws with 5:44 remaining in regulation.
• The Falcons eventually trimmed their deficit to five at 69-64 on a pair of Will Young free throws with 1:26 left in the game. York would salt the game away by going 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute of play to secure the nine-point road win.
Spartan Leaders
David Giuliani: 15 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 6-for-12 FG, 3-for-4 FT
Sean Kelly: 14 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 3 steals, 1 blocked shot
Travis Stoll: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Riley Dobraniecki: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
By the Numbers
The Spartans were brilliant from the free throw line as they went 18-for-20 (90%) from the stripe … the 18 free throws made are a season-high for the Green and White … York won the battle of the glass, outrebounding the Falcons 36-33 … York led for 70.3% of the game after falling behind 12-2 early in the game … York committed a season-low eight turnovers … the eight turnovers were the lowest since December 7, 2019 when York had six miscues against Delaware Valley at Wolf Gymnasium … the victory is the first this year that has come by less than double figures.
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 11-9 all-time against the Falcons and have won two straight in the series … senior David Giuliani registered his tenth career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds … the double-double is Giuliani's third of the season … senior Sean Kelly set a new career-high with his 14 points in the win … Kelly now has two double figure efforts this year … Travis Stoll was York's third player in double figures as he was one short of his season high with 15 points … Stoll now has four double figure scoring games for the year … the Spartans have now won three of their last four.
Up Next
The Spartans are now off until next Wednesday when they head to Chester, PA to face Widener in another MAC Commonwealth road game. The game will be the final conference game in the 2021 portion of the schedule and will be York's third road game in their first four Commonwealth contests. Tip time is set for 8:00 pm.