OWINGS MILLS, MD – The York College men's basketball squad earned another big road win as they downed Stevenson University 68-55 in a key MAC Commonwealth clash on Wednesday night in Owings Mills, Maryland.
The Spartans have won three straight and six of their last seven. York improves to 7-4 on the road as York is now 13-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference. York has won six of their last seven league contests.
Stevenson has now lost five straight, as they fall to 11-11 overall and 5-8 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• Both teams got off to a rough start as there were just 20 points scored in the opening eight plus minutes of the game. The game was tied at ten when freshman Pat Gilhool drilled a three pointer from the top of the arc to take a 13-12 lead. That triple kicked off an 10-2 run to push the Spartan lead to 20-12 with 9:14 left in the half.
• The two teams spent the next three minutes of game time struggling to find the bottom of the net. Stevenson's Cameron Smith got a fast break dunk to halt the Spartan run. York got that bucket back plus one more as Jackson Mascari drilled a three as York took a 23-14 lead with 4:20 remaining in the half. The Mustangs cut into the York lead just before the half as they hit York with an 8-0 run, trimming the York lead to 23-22. York got a bucket from Mascari and a three from Kai Cipalla to go up six but KJ Holton hit a lay-up with three seconds left as York had to settle for the 28-24 halftime lead.
• Both teams were cold from the floor in the first half as York shot 27.8% (10-for-36) while Stevenson made 29% (9-for-31) of their attempts. York made five threes while the Mustangs were 0-for-9 from distance.
• The opening minutes of the second half were the complete opposite of the opening minutes of the game. After the Mustangs got a bucket to open the half, York went on an 18-4 run that pushed the Spartan lead to 46-29. Chris Miers had eight points on the run with Jayden Rowe and Cipalla adding five points each. York went 7-for-9 from the floor on the run including 4-for-6 from three.
• The Spartans pushed the lead to 19 on a Cipalla lay-up with 11:32 left in the game. York shot 61.1% (11-for-18) in the opening ten minutes of the second half. Junior Shawn Barclay hit a driving lay-up to push the lead to 23 with 9:16 remaining. The Spartans went cold for a three minute stretch as the Mustangs cut the Spartan lead to 15 but Cipalla hit another bucket to get York back on track with 6:00 minutes showing on the clock. Miers notched a traditional three-point play followed by a lay-up to put the Spartans up 22 at 66-44. Stevenson cut the Spartan lead to 13 late as the Green and White settled for the double digit road victory.
 
By The Numbers
York finished the game shooting 38.6% (27-of-70) from the floor while the Mustangs were held to a 34.9% (22-for-63) accuracy mark … York went 10-for-36 from three while the Mustangs converted a mere 2-of-19 (10.5%) from distance … the Spartans went to the free throw line just eight times, making four while Stevenson was 9-for-10 … the rebounding totals were even at 42 … the Spartans had 23 assists on their 27 field goals while they committed just seven turnovers … Stevenson held a 16-10 margin in fast break points … Cameron Smith led the Mustangs 12 points … McKale Williams and Cameron Sapienza each chipped in with eight points each … Nate Arrington pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds while he also had six points.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans snapped a two game losing streak to the Mustangs … the Spartans lead the all-time series between the two schools 17-6 … York placed four in double figures led by Kai Cipalla as the sophomore forward poured in 17 points while he also pulled in six rebounds … Cipalla was 7-for-12 from the floor including a career-high 3-for-4 from three … Chris Miers added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Green and White, his seventh straight game in double figures in scoring … sophomore Jackson Mascari had another great all-around game as he had 11 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists … Pat Gilhool was the fourth Spartan in double figures as he tied a career-high with ten points … Gilhool was 4-for-8 from the floor including a pair of threes … York shot 50% (17-for-34) in the second half … the seven turnovers marks the seventh time York that the Spartans have been in single digits in miscues … the eight free throw attempts are the lowest since York attempted four in the win over Arcadia … York had a season-low ten personal fouls in the win.
 
Up Next
The Spartans have their league bye on Saturday before returning to Wolf Gymnasium for their final regular season home game of the year next Tuesday against Hood. Game time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 6:00 pm.