FREDERICK, MD – The York College men's basketball team picked up a big road win as the Spartans downed defending league champion Hood 68-65 on Wednesday night in Frederick. The Spartans got 15 second half points from Chris Miers as the Green and White outscored the Blazers 40-31 in the second half.
The Spartans snap a three-game losing streak as they improve to 8-9 overall and 2-6 in the league. The Blazers are now 9-8 and 3-5 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The teams went back and forth early as there were two ties and eight lead changes in the opening 7:15 of the game. With the game tied at 15, the Blazers got a three from Soren Almquist as the Blazers would lead the rest of the half. Hood went on a quick 6-0 spurt to push out to a 32-24 lead with 55 seconds left in the half. The Spartans got a big offensive rebound and put back from Jayden Rowe to cut the Hood lead to 34-28 at the break.
• The Spartans came out of the intermission a high-flying group as York opened the stanza with a 10-0 run to take a 38-34 lead a mere 2:27 into the half. The Blazers battled back to take a 42-40 lead but a lay-up by Shawn Barclay and a three from Jackson Mascari put the Spartans up five. The Blazers scored eight of the next 11 points as the game was tied for a fifth and final time at 48 with 12:15 left in the game.
• Spartan junior Chris Miers drilled his second straight three pointer to give York a 51-48 lead. That triple kicked off a 10-2 run that gave the Spartans a 58-50 lead with 8:36 left in the game. That would be York's biggest lead of the game. The Blazers responded with a quick five-point spurt, trimming the York lead to three.
• The Blazers eventually cut the Spartan lead to one before Sean Kelly hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three with 32 seconds left. After a series of turnovers, the Blazers got a bucket from Christopher Smalls with seven seconds left, again cutting the York lead to one. Rowe was fouled with two seconds left and the freshman calmly sank both free throws to push the lead back the three. The Blazers were not able to get a tying attempt off as the Spartans escaped with the three-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans held the Blazers to 65 points, tying their lowest home offensive performance of the year … the Blazers entered the game averaging a league best 80 points per game … the win snaps York three-game skid that started with an overtime loss to #7 Christopher Newport … York went a scorching 13-for-14 from the line in the second half … York won the battle on the glass for the third straight game and the seventh time in the last eight games … that rebounding margin allowed the Spartans to have a 12-5 margin in second-chance points … the Spartans outscored Hood 32-16 in the paint … York had 20 turnovers which the Blazers turned into 17 points ... the Blazers were coming off a road win at first place Alvernia on Saturday ... Christopher Smalls led all scorers with 22 for the Blazers. 
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans snap a two game losing streak to the Blazers as the Spartans now lead the all-time series 10-6 … junior Chris Miers played a big role in the Spartans' second half explosion as he scored all 15 of his team-high tying points in the second 20 minutes of play … Miers was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line as he played all 20 minutes in the second half … Jackson Mascari added 15 points of his own as he was 7-for-11 from the floor while he also had four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 35 minutes of play … Jayden Rowe was the third Spartan in double figures with 12 points including the game clinching free throws with two seconds left … Kai Cipalla added eight points, six rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal … freshman Nick Schroeder had four big rebounds, with three coming on the offensive end, in the first half … senior Sean Kelly added five points, four assists, five rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal for York.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to Wolf Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon when they host Eastern University in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time is set for 3:00 pm. The game will be preceded by the 2022-23 Senior Day ceremony honoring senior Sean Kelly. The Spartans will play three of their next four at home.