YORK, PA – Nick Brady's
(Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) career-high 31 points
catapulted the York College men's basketball team to a 77-62
victory over Hood College in Capital Athletic Conference action
Wednesday night. The home win pushes the Spartans' season
mark to 6-13 including 4-6 in the league, while the Blazers fall to
5-13 and 2-7 in CAC play.
Brady's career night came via an
11-for-18 shooting performance including 5-for-8 from three and a
flawless 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The junior also chipped
in eight rebounds, with six caroms coming in the second frame, and
three steals in his 34 minutes.
The first stanza proved to be a back-and-forth
battle with both squads owning the lead at various points
throughout the 20 minutes. Hood grabbed their largest advantage at
seven with 7:44 to play in the first and then again at the 6:16
mark with the latter showing 27-20 on the scoreboard. The Spartans
then went on a 12-6 run to close the half and headed into the
locker room down only one at 33-32.
Despite six turnovers by the 8:30 mark of the
first, the Spartans cleaned up their play for the rest of frame.
York did not commit a miscue for the remaining first-half minutes,
allowing the Green and White to go on that 12-6 spurt.
After the break, the Blazers' Chris
Leggett scored a lay-in to push the Hood advantage to 35-32. The
Spartans then wrestled the lead away from their guests for good,
courtesy of five consecutive points from senior forward Pat
Kelley (Davidsonville, Md./South River). Kelley
nailed a triple with 18:43 to play before converting a lay-up 34
seconds later to give York a 37-35 lead, their first since 16-13 at
the 12:09 mark of the opening 20 minutes.
The Green and White would spend the next 5:17
expanding that two-point margin to as much as 15. Four different
Spartans tallied during the 15-2 run as York went 6-for-6 from the
free throw line over that span.
Hood then began chipping away at the 15-point
bulge, cutting the Spartans' advantage to six at 64-58 with
4:09 left in the game. J'Air Brady scored six of his team
high 16 points over a 5:19 period to help bring his squad back to
within striking distance.
York's Brady then went on a mini-spurt of
his own scoring seven straight points, including his fifth triple
of the night, to push the Spartans' lead to 13 at 71-58 with
only 2:26 to play.
Julian Watson (Odenton,
Md./Arundel) effectively iced the game for the Green and
White with 1:06 to play. The freshman guard converted a pair of
free throws to give the Spartans their largest lead of the game, a
17-point advantage, at 77-60.
York, who with the win remains in the hunt for
next month's the CAC playoffs, shot 41.3% from the field on
26-for-63 shooting including 6-for-10 from deep. The Spartans put
on a clutch performance at the charity stripe, canning 19 of their
24 attempts, including 12-for-14 in the second frame. York also
held the rebounding advantage, grabbing 45 caroms to Hood's
36.
The Blazers shot 36.8% for the game courtesy of
a 21-for-57 night. The visitors went cold from the floor in the
second frame, going 9-for-29 for 31.0%. From the foul line, the
Blazers converted at a rate of 61.5% going 16-for-26 on the
evening.
For the Spartans, in addition to Brady's
grandiose performance, sophomore Andrew Pawlyk (Bernville,
Pa./Tulpehocken) also put in a career night. The
6'6” forward registered his first career double-double
as he tallied a career-high 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Pawlyk was 4-for-8 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the stripe, and
chipped in a pair of assists over his 26 minutes. Watson went for
ten points on the night, including a solid 6-for-7 from the line,
while the guard grabbed six rebounds. Junior forward Jeremy
Keefer (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) contributed nine points and
a team-high six assists.
For Hood, Brady was the lone scorer in
double-figures as the Blazers spread out their 62 points among ten
players. Garrett Williams and Chris Leggett each recorded nine for
the visitors, while Jeff Willison tallied five points and team-high
six rebounds.
The Spartans hit the road Saturday, traveling
to sixth-place Stevenson in a CAC matchup that could have major
playoff implications. York fell to the Mustangs 104-92 in a
four-overtime thriller at the Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center
back on December 6. Tip off from Stevenson, Md. is slated for 8:00
pm.
GAME BOX
Andrew Pawlyk photo courtesy of Steve
Doemland
