YORK, PA – The York College Spartans opened their own Spartan Basketball Classic with a 76-60 win over SUNY-Poly on Saturday afternoon in York. The Spartans began the four-team classic with the 16-point victory.
The Spartans improve to 5-3 overall while the Wildcats fall to 5-5.
 
How It Happened
• The game started with a frenetic offensive pace as both teams were back and forth early on. Points were aplenty as the game was tied at 15 just over six minutes in. The Wildcats were 6-for-8 from the floor while York was 7-for-13 during the opening segment of the contest.
• York then fashioned a 14-5 run over the next 5:45 to push out to a 29-20 lead. Kai Cipalla and Chris Miers had four points each on the spurt. The Wildcats answered with a quick 9-6 spurt, trimming York's lead to 35-29 with 3:06 remaining in the half. The Spartans eventually took a 40-33 lead to the break.
• The Spartans shot 51.6% from the field in the first half while SUNY Poly converted 46.2% of their attempts from the floor. Both teams struggled at the line as the Wildcats were 7-for-14 at the stripe while York was just 3-for-8.
• The Wildcats opened the second half scoring with a Josh Ernst lay-up but the Spartans then ripped off a 13-4 run to take a 53-39 lead. Cipalla had four points on the run while Jackson Mascari added three points of his own. The Spartan lead continued to vacillate between 13 and 17 points over the next seven minutes of the game. The Spartans put together a quick 6-0 run to push the lead to a game-high 19 at 74-55 with 4:48 left in the game.
• The teams traded baskets over the final four minutes of the game as the Spartans closed out the game with a 16-point win, their third double figure win of the year.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 45% from the floor, 27.3% (6-for-22) from three and 16-for-25 (64%) from the stripe … the Wildcats converted 39.3% from the field, 21.4% (3-for-14) from three and an ice cold 39.1% (9-for-23) from the line … the Spartans held a 44-42 edge in rebounding but the Wildcats had a 14-6 bulge in second-chance points … both teams scored in the paint as York held a slight 42-40 advantage in paint points … both teams took care of the ball as there were just a combined 23 turnovers … York turned SUNY Poly's 13 turnovers into 20 points … York blocked another seven shots in the game.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting between the two programs was the first in school history … York improves to 3-2 at home as they have won three straight at Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans held the Wildcats to 39.3% shooting which was a season-low for a Spartan opponent … Poly's three triples ties a season-low for a Spartan opponent (3 vs. Nazareth) while their nine made free throws was also a season-low for a Spartan opponent … the Spartans have blocked 16 shots in the last two games after having nine at Rochester and seven in Saturday's game … York had more assists than turnovers for the fifth time this year … Kai Cipalla had another big day as the junior forward had his third double-double of the year with 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds … Cipalla was 9-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the stripe … Cipalla now has four career double-doubles … Chris Miers added 13 points and three rebounds off the bench in his 24 minutes of action … Jackson Mascari just missed out on a double-double as he had 11 points and nine rebounds … Mascari also handed out four assists, blocked a shot and recorded a steal … Jayden Rowe was York's fourth double figure scorer with 10 points while he also had three rebounds, seven assists, and a career-high four blocked shots … Tate Landis swiped five steals to go along with his five points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Sunday afternoon as they will play Randolph-Macon in a key regional match up. Tip time for game four of the 2023 Spartan Basketball is set for 4:00 pm. Marywood and SUNY Poly start the day with game three of the tournament which tips at 2:00 pm.