GRANTHAM, PA-The York College men's basketball team saw
their five-game win streak come to a grinding halt as the Messiah
College Falcons pounded the Spartans 85-54 in York's final
non-conference of the year on Saturday night in Grantham, PA. The
Falcons improve to 10-4 overall while the green and white falls to
9-5.
The Spartans found themselves down early after Jeremy
Keefer (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) began the game with a three.
Messiah scored the next eight points of the game to forge a lead
they would not relinquish the rest of the game. York was able to
trim the lead to 12-11 on a pair of Chad McGowan
(Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) free throws with 13:47
remaining in the half. The Falcons then fashioned a 10-0 spurt over
the next three minutes to push the lead to 22-11. The green and
white got the lead back into single digits with 4:26 left on two
more McGowan free throws but Messiah scored 12 of the final 17
points of the half to take a 49-33 lead at the half.
The 49 points are the second most the Spartans have surrendered
in the first half, second to the 52 points York allowed against
Nazareth. Both of those big first half by opponents have resulted
in blowout losses for the green and white.
The Spartans cut into the lead with four straight points to
start the second half but the Falcons responded with a 12-2 spurt
to essentially put the game out of reach. The Falcon lead grew to
33 points late before settling for the 31-point win, the
Spartans' largest loss of the year.
Five Falcons reached double figures led by Jason Miller as he
tallied 15 points and handed out seven assists. John Boyd added 13
points while Darryl Brown had 11 points, four assists, three
rebounds, and two steals. Kyle Snyder had 10 points and 11 rebounds
for the double-double while Ryan Witmer chipped in with 1 points
and five rebounds.
Sophomore Nick Brady (Hanover, Pa./Delone
Catholic) led the Spartans with 19 points as he was
7-for-14 from the floor including 3-for-5 from three. McGowan
continued his outstanding play with 18 points. McGowan was limited
to just eight shots as he was 5-for-8 from the floor and a very
solid 8-for-10 from the free throw line. McGowan also had five
rebounds and a pair of assists. Keefer was the third Spartan in
double figures with 10 points while he also pulled down four
rebounds.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 39.1% from the
floor and 31.3% from three. The Spartans converted 13-of-19
from the free throw line for a 68.4% accuracy mark from the line.
The Falcons scorched the net to the tune of 54.2% for the
game including 44.4% from distance. Messiah finished the game
shooting 60% from the charity stripe.
The Falcons outrebounded the Spartans 32-26 while York committed
20 turnovers which turned into 30 Messiah points. The Falcon bench
outscored the York bench 37-2 for the game.
York returns to Capital Athletic Conference action on
Wednesday night as they travel to Wesley College to face the newest
members of the CAC. Tip time at Wesley is set for 8:00 pm.
BOX SCORE
Jeremy Keefer photo courtesy of Eric Linsley
