ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The York College men's basketball team opened their 2023-24 campaign with a 92-68 win over SUNY Canton in the semifinals of the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament hosted by Nazareth College in Rochester, NY.
The Spartans were very balanced on the evening as they scored 45 in the first and 47 in the second half to cruise to the 24-point win. The Spartans had three players in double figures while 13 different players scored for York.
The Spartans are now 1-0 while the Roos fall to 1-1.
 
How It Happened
• The early stages of the game were back and forth as the largest lead was five for the Spartans at the 9:14 mark. The Roos cut the lead to two on a Terrence Fields three with 8:26 left but back-to-back three pointers from Pat Gilhool and Jackson Mascari pushed the Spartan lead to eight. The Roos went on a 12-5 run, trimming York's advantage to one with 5:08 remaining in the half. York started to pull away late in the stanza as they ended the half with 11-4 run to take a 45-37 lead to the break.
• York shot 51.4% from the floor in the first half including 4-for-10 from three and 5-for-7 from the line. York had 10 first-half turnovers which Canton turned into 11 points.
• The Green and White got off to a blistering start in the second half as they smacked the Roos with a 12-0 spurt to begin the stanza, pushing the lead to 20 at 57-37. Kai Cipalla started the run with a fast break dunk while senior Johnny Kennevan scored all seven of his points on the run.
• York pushed the lead to 27 on a Tate Landis lay-up with 12:20 left in the game. The Roos trimmed the lead to 21 on a pair of Kevin Goode free throws at the 9:49 mark. York then ripped off a 10-2 run to increase the lead to a game-high 29. York's advantage would not fall below 23 the remainder of the game.
 
Spartan Statistics
York finished the game shooting 50.7% (37-for-73) from the floor, 35.7% (10-for-28) from three and 66.7% (8-for-12) from the free throw line … the Roos converted 40.7% (22-for-54) from the field, 33.3% (7-for-21) from three and 17-for-25 (68%) from the stripe … York had 19 assists and 14 turnovers as they committed just four turnovers in the second half … Canton had 18 turnovers and just six assists on their 22 field goals … York tallied 32 points off Canton's 18 miscues … York scored 50 of their 92 point in the paint … the Spartan bench scored 30 points in the win.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting between the two programs was the first in Spartan history … the Spartans are now 9-2 in season openers under head coach Matt Hunter including eight straight wins in openers … sophomore Jayden Rowe led the way for the Spartans with 22 points and a career-high eight rebounds … Rowe also had three assists in his 21 minutes of play … Jackson Mascari added 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 21 minutes of play … Kai Cipalla dished out a career-high six assists while he also had eight points, three rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot … sophomore Pat Gilhool set a new career-high with 12 points as he was 4-for-6 from three … Gilhool also had three rebounds in 18 minutes of play … senior Johnny Kennevan tallied seven points in just ten minutes of action as he was 3-for-4 from the floor and 1-for-2 from three … senior Shawn Barclay tied his career high with seven rebounds while he also had four points, an assist and a steal … the Spartans had four players make their collegiate debut as Max Koehler, James Iannelli, Ethan Glass and Corey Palmer got into the game for the Green and White … the Spartans held the Roos to 68 points after Canton put 112 points on the board against Paul Smith's College in their season opener on Wednesday.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will square off against tournament host Nazareth in the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament championship game. The Golden Eagles strolled past Buffalo State 91-65 in their semifinal game. Tip time in Rochester is set for 3:00 pm.