YORK, PA-The York College men's basketball squad saw their three-game win streak come to a grinding halt as the Nazareth College Golden Flyers blitzed the Spartans 99-79 in the opening round of the 2007 White Rose City Classic in York on Friday night. The Spartans will now face the William Paterson Pioneers in the consolation game on Saturday while Nazareth will face Messiah, a 64-60 overtime winner over WPU, in the championship game at 3:00 pm.

The game began with a Joe Canori three point field goal just five seconds into the game. That play would foreshadow what was in store for the green and white over the 40 minutes of the contest. The Spartans had their only lead of the game on a Chad McGowan (Dallastown, PA/Dallastown) lay up with 16:51 remaining in the first half as York held a 7-5 advantage. The Flyers tied the game on a Tyler Smith lay up and took the lead for good on a Canori three with 15:50 showing on the clock. Nazareth slowly built on their lead and, midway through the half, led by six. The Flyers then hit the Spartans with a game-changing 17-4 run that pushed the lead to 41-22 with 5:09 remaining in the stanza. Pat Kelley (Davidsonville, MD/River Hill) cut the lead to 15 on a jumper at the 3:06 mark but Nazareth scored eight of the final 10 points of the half to take a 52-31 lead at the break.

The Spartans showed some signs of life in the second half, cutting the Nazareth lead to 11 courtesy of a 17-8 spurt. However, the Golden Flyers responded with a quick 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to 18 with 9:47 remaining in the game. A Nick Brady (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic) three cut the lead to 15 with 7:56 showing on the clock but that would be as close as the Spartans would get the rest of the way. The Nazareth lead ballooned to as many as 27 before the Golden Flyers settled for the 20-point win.

Canori led the Flyers with a game-high 28 points. He was 10-for-17 from the floor including 6-for-12 from three. He was 2-for-2 from the line while he also had four rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes of work. Smith added 18 points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists while Corey McAdam dished out a Nazareth school record 19 assists in 36 minutes. McAdam also had nine points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals. Rayvon Higdon came off the bench to added 17 points to the Nazareth attack. Ryan McAdam was the fourth Flyer in double figures with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.

McGowan led the Spartans with 22 points, eight rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots. McGowan was 8-for-13 from the floor including 1-of-2 from three. Senior Levi Winters (Manchester, PA/Northeastern) tallied 14 points and six rebounds while Kelley and Nate Lankford (York, PA/West York) each recorded 12 points for York.

Nazareth shot a blistering 56.5% from the floor and an equally impressive 47.6% from three as they knocked down 10-of-21 from distance. The Spartans shot 46% from the floor but converted just 23.5% from beyond the arc. The Spartans were much improved from the charity stripe, converting 17-of-21 (81%) for the game. Both teams pulled down 35 rebounds but York held a 15-7 edge in second chance points. The Flyers outscored York 31-4 in fast break points while they also had a 25-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

The green and white will look to get back on the winning side of the ledger as they face William Paterson at 1:00 pm on Saturday.

York - Nazareth Box

Messiah 64-William Paterson 60 in OT

YORK, PA – The nightcap of the first day of the White Rose City Classic saw Messiah down William Paterson 64-60 in overtime.  With the victory the Falcons (5-3) advance to tomorrow's 3:00 pm championship game against Nazareth, 99-79 winner over host York College.  William Paterson falls to 8-2 on the season and squares off against York in the consolation game at 1:00 pm.

Messiah looked as if they were going to take the game in regulation after a Colton Reitz layup put the Falcons ahead 53-51 with just 5.1 seconds to play.  The Pioneers had different thoughts as Seve Cousins dropped in a jumper of his own with 0.4 on the clock to push the game to overtime. 

Free throws would dominate the overtime scoring as the Falcons nailed 9-of-12 from the charity stripe to grab the four-point victory.

Darryl Brown's 13 points and six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, paced the Falcons.  Reitz added 12 points and six boards off Messiah's bench while Jamie Yoder and Drew Sneeringer chipped in with nine points apiece.

For the Pioneers, Joey Spiegel led all scorers with 14.  Abdoulaye Ouedraogo registered 13 points on five-of-five shooting and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.  Joseph Ellis contributed eleven points in his 26 minutes of action.  

Messiah - William Paterson Box 

Chad McGowan Photo courtesy of Eric Linsley