YORK, PA-The York College men's basketball team captured
the championship of the 2008 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic presented
by Best Western as they defeated previously unbeaten Elizabethtown,
80-74, in the tournament's championship game on Saturday
evening at Wolf Gym. The Spartans, winners of a season-high four
straight, are now 8-4 while the Blue Jays fall to 10-1. The loss
snaps Elizabethtown's 11 game win streak which was the
longest active streak in the nation.
The contest had the feel of a big game from the opening tip and
York responded to the big crowd by jumping out to a 16-6 lead just
over six minutes into the game. The two teams traded threes to make
the score 19-9 with 12:56 remaining in the half but then the Blue
Jays scored 11 of the next 13 points to pull to within one at
21-20. York held onto the lead for another four minutes before a
Chad Piersol lay up gave the guests a 30-29 lead. The remaining
four minutes of the half featured four ties including the one final
tie of the half as the squads headed to intermission deadlocked at
37.
The Blue Jays dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes of
play as they held a 24-15 edge in rebounding. That margin allowed
Elizabethtown to hold a 13-4 advantage in second chance points in
the half.
The second half proved to be the exact opposite as the Spartans
came out of the break and pounded the backboards. Elizabethtown
forged a brief 43-41 lead three minutes into the half but
York's Nick Brady (Hanover, PA/Delone
Catholic) hit a triple with 16:04 remaining in the game to
give York a lead they would not relinquish. The Spartans slowly
built on the lead but every time York threatened a double figure
lead, the Blue Jays would make a small spurt to pull the green and
white back to them. The Spartan lead finally reached double figures
with 1:38 left as sophomore Jeremy Keefer (Palmyra,
Pa./Palmyra) split a pair of free throws, giving York a
72-62 lead. Senior All-American Chad McGowan (Dallastown,
PA/Dallastown) pushed the lead to 12 with a thunderous
fast break dunk but Piersol hit a lay up to trim the lead back to
10. Keefer then gave Spartans' a 13-point lead on a dunk and
foul with 59 seconds left. The Blue Jays, much to their credit, did
not go away without making life difficult on the Spartans. The Blue
Jays received a lay up and three pointer from Mike Schatzmann,
cutting the York lead to eight. After Brady split a pair of free
throws with 23 seconds left, Jordan Dirago split two free throws of
his own as the lead remained at eight. Schatzmann then hit two free
throws and a lay up to bring the Blue Jays to within four at 78-74
with nine seconds remaining. Senior Nate Lankford
(York, PA/West York) iced the win for the Spartans
with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left, providing for
the final six point margin of victory.
The Spartans were very balanced in the game but McGowan stood
out as he was named as the Tournament MVP. The senior had 21
points, a season-high 13 rebounds, a career-high five assists, a
season-high four blocked shots and three steals in 36 big minutes.
McGowan was 9-for-19 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the free throw
line. Keefer added his first collegiate double-double with a
career-high tying 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, nine of
which came in the second half. Lankford contributed 13 points,
three rebounds, three assists, and a trio of steals while Brady
also had 12 points. Brady also had four rebounds, two assists and a
steal. Senior Levi Winters (Manchester,
PA/Northeastern), who earned a spot on the All-Tournament
team, finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocked
shots, an assist and a steal.
Schatzmann, who earned All-Tournament team honors, finished with
a game-high 23 points while he also had six rebounds. Piersol added
a double-double with 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Phil
Schaffer pulled in eight rebounds, handed out a team-best five
assists and collected a game-high five steals for the Blue Jays.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 43.5% from the floor but
a cool 17.6% from three. The Blue Jays were held to a 38.2%
accuracy mark from the floor including 27.3% from three. York
doubled up the Blue Jays at the free throw line as they made 34
attempts to just 17 for Elizabethtown. The Spartans made 23 of
their attempts while Elizabethtown canned just 10.
York finished the game with a 49-44 edge on the glass as they
out-rebounded their guests 34-20 in the decisive second stanza.
The game closes out the Spartans' non-conference schedule
and they will jump back into conference play on Wednesday evening
as they travel to St. Mary's for a big conference tilt. Tip
time in St. Mary's City, MD is set for 8:00 pm.
BOX SCORE
Chad McGowan photograph courtesy of Eric Linsley.
