ALTOONA, PA – The York College men's basketball team picked up a big road win on Wednesday night as they downed Penn State Altoona 89-86 in a non-conference shoot out in Altoona, PA.
York placed five players in double figures while 11 Spartans scored in the win. Junior Kai Cipalla recorded his fourth double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 boards.
The Spartans improve to 6-4 overall while the Lions fall to 4-6.
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fast start as they raced out to an 11-2 lead. Kai Cipalla had eight points on the run as York seized control early. Altoona answered with an 11-5 run of their own, cutting the Spartan lead to 16-13 just under six minutes into the game. York went on a 13-6 spurt to push their lead to ten at 29-19.
• The Lions scored 13 of the next 21 points of the game to slice the Spartan lead to 37-32 with 4:48 left in the first half. Jahmar White had six points on the run while Dwayne Jones added five for the Lions. The Spartan lead then vacillated between two and seven points over the final 4:28 of the half. The Lions cut the Spartan lead to 44-42 but York was able to push the lead to five (52-47) at the half.
• Both teams scorched the nets in the opening half as York shot 50% (20-for-40) from the floor including 8-of-20 (40%) from three. The Lions shot a blistering 58.6% (17-for-29) from the field, 1-for-3 from distance and 12-for-14 from the line.
• Altoona began the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 56-54 lead 3:41 into the half. Johnny Kennevan halted the run with a big three-pointer, kick starting a 7-0 Spartan spurt that gave the visitors a 61-56 lead. Much like it was all evening, the Lions responded with a 9-3 run of their own to recapture the lead at 65-64. It was then York's turn as the Spartans scored eight of the next ten points to push out to a 72-67 lead with 8:03 left. Jackson Mascari and Pat Gilhool each drilled a three during the spurt.
• The Lions responded yet again, this time a 10-3 run that gave them their final lead of the night at 77-75. Tate Landis drilled a huge three with 3:34 left to give York the lead for good. That triple started a quick 7-0 run that gave the Spartans 82-77 lead with 2:18 remaining in the game. Justin Sheetz split a pair of free throws followed by Jones converting a pair charity tosses to slice the Spartan lead to 82-80. Mascari hit Chris Miers on a beautiful back door cut to put the Spartans back up by four. White hit a jumper at the one-minute mark to cut the lead back to two. Landis then hit a huge three off a loose ball scramble with just four seconds left on the shot clock to give York an 87-82 advantage with 33 seconds left. York got a stop and then Jayden Rowe converted a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to push the lead to seven. The Lions hit a free throw with 13 seconds left and then got a three with a second left to provide for the final three-point Spartan margin of victory.
By the Numbers
The Spartans shot 48.4% (31-for-64) from the field, including 14-for-33 (42.4%) from three and 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the stripe … Penn State Altoona shot 53.6% (30-for-56) from the floor, 46.2% (6-for-13) from three and 20-for-25 (80%) from the free throw line … York held a 35-29 advantage on the glass which led to York having a 13-6 advantage in second chance points … both teams had 16 turnovers but the Lions held a 23-20 margin in points off turnovers … York had a 34-13 bulge in bench points … the Lions held a 38-34 margin in paint points and a 32-18 advantage in fast break points … York's largest lead was 12 while the Lions biggest lead was two … York led 93.4% of the game.
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 2-0 all-time against Altoona … the Spartans are now 3-1 away from Charles Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans hit a season-high 14 three-point field goals and that's the first time they reached 14 threes since the March 7, 2020 NCAA Tournament game at Mount Union, a span of 59 games … the Spartans have now made double figures in three point field goals in four games this year … York had a season-high 23 assists in the win … York reached the 80 point mark for the fifth time this year … York won the battle on the boards for the seventh time this year and York is now 6-1 when that happens … Kai Cipalla led the way for York as he notched the double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while he also had two assists and two steals … Cipalla was 10-for-15 from the floor … Chris Miers came off the bench and had another strong performance with 14 points, two rebounds and a steal in his 22 minutes of action … Tate Landis knocked down four three-pointers for 12 points while he also had a rebound, four assists and a two steals … Jackson Mascari and Jayden Rowe each contributed 10 points for the Green and White … Mascari added five rebounds and seven assists while Rowe pulled in eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, had two blocked shots and a steal in his 29 minutes of action … the Spartans are now off 10 days for the Christmas holiday.
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, December 30 when they host Dickinson College in a non-conference contest. Tip time from Charles Wolf Gymnasium is set for 3:00 pm.