HOBOKEN, N.J. – The York College men's basketball team fell to a red-hot Hamilton College squad 78-57 in the championship game of the Stevens Holiday Classic on Saturday in Hoboken, N.J.
The Continentals shot a blistering 55.9% for the game while York was held to 35% shooting for the contest.
Hamilton improves to 11-1 overall as they have won ten straight. The Spartans had their three-game win streak snapped as they fall to 7-4 overall.
 
How It Happened
• The teams went back and forth early as the game was tied at 13, 5:09 into the game. Hamilton then put together a 12-3 run to take a 25-16 lead at the midway point of the first half. The Continentals were 5-for-8 from the floor during the run including 2-for-3 from distance. While Hamilton was hitting shots, the Spartans were 1-for-6 from the floor with two turnovers as the Spartans trailed by nine.
• The Spartans scored 11 of the next 18 points over a five-minute stretch as the Green and White trimmed their deficit to five at 32-27. The Continentals answered immediately with a quick 7-0 run as Hank Morgan hit a lay-up and a three during the spurt that gave Hamilton a 12-point lead. York got the next four points but Garrett Keyhani hit a jumper at the horn as Hamilton took a 41-31 lead to the break.
• The Continentals were on-fire from the field in the first half as they shot a blistering 58.1% (18-for-31) from the floor. Conversely, the Spartans struggled from the field, shooting just 35.7% (10-for-28) from the field including 1-for-9 from three.
• Hamilton scored the first four points of the half as the lead jumped to 14. The Spartans scored the next five points, cutting the deficit to nine. That would be the closest the Spartans got the rest of the day. York got to within ten three different times but Hamilton continued to pull away as they went on an 12-0 run to push the lead to 73-50 with 4:23 left in the game. That would be the Spartans' biggest deficit of the year. The Continentals would finish the game with a final 21-point margin of victory.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans shot just 35% (21-for-60) from the floor while they were also 3-for-19 (15.8%) from distance … York was 12-for-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line … Hamilton shot 55.9% (33-for-59) from the floor including 35.3% (6-for-17) from three … Hamilton was 6-for-8 (75%) from the charity stripe … Hamilton held a 35-32 edge in rebounds while the Spartans had a 13-7 margin in offensive rebounds … Hamilton had a 21-7 bulge in assists while York had 15 turnovers to 12 for the Continentals … York's 15 turnovers cost them 19 points  … the Hamilton bench outscored their Spartan counterparts 27-12 … the Continentals had a 15-6 margin in fast break points … Hamilton had a 38-34 edge in paint points … tournament MVP Hank Morgan poured in a game-high 32 points as he was 13-for-19 from the floor including 3-for-6 from three and 3-for-4 from the line … Morgan added three rebounds, three steals and an assist … Garret Keyhani added nine points and five rebounds with three assists … Teja Singh added eight points to the Hamilton attack.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting is the second all-time between the two programs … Hamilton now leads the all-time series 2-0 as the previous meeting came at Wolf Gym on March 3, 2018 when the Continentals downed the Spartans 69-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament … that game was the final collegiate contests for Spartan greats Dalton Myers, Matt Scamuffo and Blayde Reich as the trio all finished their careers inside the top 25 on the all-time scoring list … Myers finished ninth on the all-time scoring list while Scamuffo was 12^th and Reich was 20^th … they were all 1,000 career point scorers for York … the Spartans made just 21 field goals, tied for their second-lowest total of the year … York's 35% shooting is tied for their worst shooting game of the year (also at Johns Hopkins on November 12) … York's three three-pointers tied a season low that also happened in the Hopkins game … York's seven assists were a season-low … Kai Cipalla led the way for York with 19 points and five rebounds … Cipalla was 7-for-18 from the floor, 1-for-4 from three and 4-for-6 from the line … he added three assists, a steal and a blocked shot in the game … Jayden Rowe was the other Spartan in double figures with 12 points while he also had a rebound, and a steal … Jackson Mascari chipped in with nine points, four rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
 
Up Next
The Spartans open MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday night as they head to Alvernia to face the Golden Wolves in a road contest. Tip time is set for 8:00 pm as the second part of a league doubleheader.