YORK, PA-The York College men's basketball team continued
to roll as the Spartans won their sixth straight with an 84-74
Capital Athletic Conference victory over Salisbury University
on Wednesday night at the Grumbacher Sport & Fitness
Center. The Spartans improve to 15-6 overall with the win while the
remain alone in first place in the CAC with a mark of 10-2.
Salisbury falls to 4-16 overall and 2-9 in the league.
The Spartans fell behind early as the Sea Gulls held a 9-6 lead
just four minutes into the game. The Spartans responded with an
11-3 run that handed them a 17-12 lead with 13:07 left in the half.
After a Gary Ward triple cut the Spartan lead to two, the York
advantage jumped back to six on a Nate Lankford (York,
Pa./West York) jumper followed by a thunderous
Levi Winters (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) fast
break jam.
Salisbury answered the Spartans as they fashioned a quick 8-0
spurt that gave them their final lead of the night. The final 9:24
of the half featured five ties and two lead changes. The final tie
came at 35 on a Greg Palmer three with 3:50 remaining in the
stanza. The Spartans then held the visitors scoreless the remainder
of the half as York got a three from Nick Brady (Hanover,
Pa./Delone Catholic), a lay up from
Pat Kelley (Davidsonville, Md./South River),
and a lay up from Lankford to take a 42-35 lead at the break.
The green and white came out of the break determined to expand
on their lead. The Sea Gulls were equally determined to keep the
Spartans within striking distance. Salisbury cut the York lead to
five twice early but the hosts put together a 10-4 spurt to take a
54-43 lead. The Sea Gulls got back-to-back buckets from Jonas
Vaitkus and Brandon Abney to trim the York lead to seven but the
Spartans went on a quick 7-0 spurt to push the lead to 14.
Salisbury continued to work and eventually got the Spartan lead
back to single digits at 65-56 but the green and white slapped the
Gulls with a 16-0 run that took just 2:30 off the clock and
ballooned the Spartans lead to 25 at 81-56. The Spartans would
score just three points the rest of the way as Salisbury outscored
York 18-3 in the final 6:55 of the game to provide for the final 10
point bulge.
The Spartans were led by three seniors as Chad McGowan
(Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown), Lankford, and Winters were
outstanding for York in the game. McGowan led all scorers with 23
points while he also registered a game-high with nine rebounds.
McGowan was 8-for-16 from the floor while he was also a solid
7-for-11 from the charity stripe. McGowan also passed former
Spartan great Dan Johnson for fourth on the Spartans'
all-time scoring list. The senior forward now has 1,850 career
points. Lankford finished with 17 points, eight assists, seven
rebounds, seven steals, and one blocked shot. Lankford's
seven steals was just one away from tying the single-game school
record. Winters, the reigning Spartan Athlete of the Week,
continues to be a huge part of the Spartan offense as he tallied 19
points, pulled in six rebounds, handed out two assists, and notched
a pair of steals. Winters finished 8-for-12 from the floor
including 3-for-5 from three. Brady was the fourth Spartan in
double figures as the sophomore notched 19 points, just one short
of his career-high. Brady was 7-for-13 from the field including
4-of-8 from distance.
The Sea Gulls placed four players in double figures led by
Palmer as he tallied 15 points. Palmer was 6-for-15 from the field
as three of his field goals were threes. Brandon Abney added 14
points, four rebounds, and three assists while Ward contributed 13
points. Vaitkus chipped in with 10 points and a team-high six
rebounds.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 54% from the floor
including 44.4% from three. Salisbury shot 44.9% from the
field while they went just 7-for-24 (29.2%) from three. The Sea
Gulls held a slight 37-34 edge on the glass. That rebounding
advantage allowed Salisbury to finish with a 14-8 edge in second
chance points.
York held a significant 18-2 margin in fast break points while
they also scored 26 points off Salisbury's 12 turnovers.
The Spartans put their win streak on the line on Saturday as
they host St. Mary's in another critical CAC match up.
Tip time from Charles Wolf Gymnasium is set for 2:00 pm.
GAME BOX
Nate Lankford photo courtesy of Eric Linsley
