OWINGS MILLS, MD – The York College men's basketball team stayed red hot as the Spartans won their sixth game in a row, 78-65, at Stevenson University on Wednesday night in Owings Mills, Maryland.
The win avenges a loss to the Mustangs earlier in the campaign. In fact, Stevenson is the last team to beat York before the Spartans started their win streak. The Spartans were powered by Chris Miers as the guard set a new career high with 24 points.
The Spartans improve to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the league. The Mustangs fall to 8-12 overall and 2-7 in the Commonwealth.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a good start as they led 8-5 just under three minutes into the game. The Mustangs answered with a 20-6 run that covered almost ten minutes of game time. The run gave the Mustangs a 25-14 lead. It's a lead that would be their largest of the night.
• York climbed back into the game starting with a Chris Miers triple with 6:44 left in the half. That three started a 23-6 Spartan run that propelled them to a 37-31 halftime lead. York was 7-for-7 from the floor including 5-for-5 from three during the run. The only shot they missed with a free throw as they were 4-for-5 from the stripe. Miers led the way with 11 points during the spurt while Jayden Rowe added seven.
• Miers was fantastic in the first half as he carried the Spartans with 18 points as he was 7-for-7 from the floor including 4-for-4 from three. He also had three rebounds and an assist in his 16 minutes of play.
• The Mustangs scored four of the first six points of the half to trim the York lead to four. The Spartans responded in impressive fashion as they put together an 18-4 run that gave York a 57-39 lead with 11 minutes left in the game. The run covered 7:09 as the Spartans were 6-for-9 from the floor including 3-for-4 from three and 3-for-3 from the line.
• The Mustangs answered with one final push as they hit York with an 11-3 run, cutting the Spartan lead to ten with 6:33 remaining. The Spartan lead would vacillate between ten and 13 points until Mason Jones hit a pair of free throws with 2:58 left to cut the Spartan lead to eight. The Spartans outscored the Mustangs 11-6 the rest of the way to earn the 13-point win.
 
By the Niumbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 47.9% from the floor and 43.5% (10-for-23) from distance … York was outstanding from the line as they made 22-of-26 (84.6%) from the stripe … the Mustangs shot 38.6% from the floor and 22.2% (4-for-18) from distance … the Mustangs were also outstanding from the stripe as they shot 85% (17-for-20) … the Mustangs finished the game with a 33-29 edge on the glass including a 14-6 bulge in offensive rebounds … Stevenson had a 16-7 margin in second chance points … the Mustangs had a 26-20 advantage in paint points … both teams had 13 turnovers as the Mustangs had a 13-11 edge in points off turnovers … York's largest lead was 18 (57-39) while the Mustangs had an 11 point lead at 25-14 with 7:00 minutes left in the first half … York led for 57.7% (23:05) of the game.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans earned a season split with the Mustangs and now lead the overall series 18-7 … Stevenson does have a 3-2 advantage as MAC Commonwealth opponents … the 65 points allowed to the Mustangs are the most points allowed during their six game win streak … the Spartans are currently ranked second in the MAC Commonwealth in overall defense as they are allowing 69.9 points per game this season, however their defense during their win streak is even better as York is surrendering just 60 points per game … the Spartans are shooting 83.3% (35-for-42) from the free throw line over their last two games … their 84.6% mark from the line on Wednesday was their second-best performance from the line this year (11-for-12, 91.7% at Nazareth) … York has been out-rebounded in three of their last four games … Five of York's six league wins have come by double figures … the Spartans are shooting 55.2% (80-for-145) from the floor in their last three games … conversely, the Spartans last three opponents are shooting just 41.5% (71-for-171) from the field … York has held their opponents to just 23 made three pointers during their six game win streak as they are a collective 23-for-105 (21.9%) from distance … senior Chris Miers had another huge night as he poured in a new career high with 24 points … Miers was 8-for-10 from the floor, 4-for-5 from three and 4-for-5 from the line … he added three rebounds, two assists and a steal … Miers has scored 67 points in his last three games … Jayden Rowe put together a strong performance as he tallied 19 points with two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 31 minutes … Rowe was 6-for-12 from the floor including 3-for-5 from three and 4-for-5 at the line … Jackson Mascari notched his 12^th career double-double as he tallied 16 points and 10 boards in 33 minutes of action … the double figures on the glass marks the 17^th double digit rebounding effort of his Spartan career … Mascari was 4-for-9 from the floor including one three while he was hot at the line, sinking 7-of-8 … junior Kai Cipalla, the MAC Commonwealth's leading scorer, was held to 10 points as he was the fourth Spartan in double figures … Cipalla took just six shots from the field but was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head back out on the road on Saturday as they head to Alvernia University to take on the Golden Wolves. Alvernia snuck out of York with an 82-76 overtime win in the teams' conference opener back on January 3. Tip time in Reading, PA is set for 3:00 pm.