YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team picked up an important MAC Commonwealth win as they outlasted Messiah University 62-58 in league play on Wednesday night in York.
The Spartans overcame a Messiah run in the middle of the second half as they pulled out the win late.
The Spartans have now won three straight as they improve to 10-9 overall and 4-6 in the conference. Messiah has lost five straight as they dip to 8-11 overall and 3-7 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• Both teams were on point offensively in the early going. There were five ties and four lead changes in the opening nine minutes of play. Jayden Rowe split a pair of free throws and Chris Miers drilled a three to give the Spartans a four-point lead with 7:09 left. Messiah answered with a Michael Healy three but the Spartans scored the next five points to take a 27-21 lead, their biggest advantage in the first half.
• After the Spartans pushed out to the six-point lead, the Falcons went on a 9-2 run to take a 30-29 lead on a Bryce Coletti bucket. The Falcons got a rare four-point play from Tyler Penley during the spurt. York answered with a 6-1 run to take a 35-31 lead but Dylan Cuperus got a tip in at the buzzer to slice the Spartan lead to 35-33 at the break.
• The Spartans came roaring out of the halftime break as they smacked the Falcons with a 10-2 run to take a 45-35 lead just under four minutes into the half. After the teams traded buckets, the Spartans went ice cold from the field. The Spartans went over ten minutes of game time without a field goal while they scored just five points on free throws during the stretch. The Spartan defense was very good despite the offensive struggles as Messiah only scored 15 points over that expansive stretch. The Spartans' ice breaking field goal came on a three pointer from the right wing from Pat Gilhool as the freshman's huge triple put York up 55-52 with 3:59 left in the game.
• The teams went back and forth with York maintaining the lead until Jack Ramsey hit a jumper from the right baseline, giving the Falcons a 58-57 lead. They would not score the rest of the game. The Spartans recaptured the lead on a gritty Rowe lay-up with 58 seconds left. York got a stop and Penley was whisted for a flop violation. Miers converted the technical free throw to give York a 60-58 lead. Rowe cashed in another short jumper with 10 seconds left to give York their final four-point margin of victory.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 40.4% from the floor and struggled behind the arc, making just 4-of-23 (17.4%), however the Spartans were 20-for-27 from the line including 10-of-14 in the second half … Messiah dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Green and White 43-27, York's second biggest deficit of the year (-21 at Johns Hopkins) … the rebounding deficit didn't hurt the Spartans as badly as you would expect as York actually had an 8-7 edge in second chance points … the Spartans had a season-low four turnovers … in fact, the four turnovers are the lowest in the Matt Hunter era dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season … York's 20 made free throws was a season high as were the 27 attempts … Messiah's 38.6% field goal percentage was the second lowest accuracy mark against the Spartans this season (34.7% - Stevenson on January 11) … York's 17.4% three point percentage is tied for their second lowest percentage of the year (15.4% vs. Alvernia on December 14) …the game featured ten lead changes and nine ties … Arkese Claiborne led the Falcons with 18 points … Bryce Coletti was the second Falcon in double figures at 12 points while he also had nine rebounds and two assists.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans now hold a 12-11 advantage in the all-time series as the two teams split their regular season meetings … junior guard Chris Miers had another big game as he tallied 18 points including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line … it's the second time during York's three game win streak that Miers has gone 7-for-7 from the stripe as he also did it in the road win at Hood … Miers was 5-for-8 from the floor including 1-for-3 from three … Miers is averaging 18 points per game during the Spartan three-game win streak … Jayden Rowe continues his solid play as he contributed 15 points to the Spartan effort … Rowe has reached double figures in 14 of 19 games this year including eight straight games in double figures … sophomore Jackson Mascari was the third player in double figures with 11 points while he pulled in seven rebounds to tie Miers for the team lead in that category … Mascari also had five assists and that's the seventh time this year he has had five assists for more in a game … the Spartan coaching staff participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative as they wore suits with their sneakers … the program raises funds for cancer research through the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
 
Up Next
The Spartans put their win streak on the line as they head to Reading to face first-place Alvernia in a conference contest on Saturday. Game time against the Golden Wolves is set for 3:00 pm. Alvernia holds a one game lead over Eastern (6-3) and Widener (6-3) in the MAC Commonwealth standings.