YORK, PA – Senior guard Nick Brady (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) drained a three-pointer with less than five seconds left to lift the York College men's basketball to a dramatic 64-61 win over #14 St. Mary's College in Capital Athletic Conference action on Saturday night in York.

The Spartans, winners of three straight, improve to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference while the Seahawks fall to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.

The final six minutes of the contest brought a high level of drama to the charged atmosphere of Charles Wolf Gymnasium. The game was tied at 53 as the Seahawks' Chris Hutchinson threw down a fast break dunk as part of an 8-0 run that eventually gave the guests a 57-53 lead with just over five minutes remaining. A Brady three with 4:08 left cut the Spartan deficit to one at 57-56. Johann Jones drained a pair of free throws with 3:07 remaining to push the Seahawk advantage back to three but Kevin Whaley (Dover, Pa./Dover) was fouled by Camontae Griffin beyond the arc and the junior calmly sank all three freebies, tying the game at 59 with 2:03 showing on the clock.

Whaley gave the Spartans a two-point lead with a jumper with a mere 46 ticks left but the Spartans fouled Alex Franz with 12 seconds left in regulation. Franz tied the game for the eighth and final time on the night with the two free throws, setting the stage for the Spartans to come down and win the game on Brady's three from the left wing.

After Brady's three, Franz dribbled the ball down and was unable to get a shot off as the final horn sounded, giving the Spartans their first victory over a ranked team this year. The Spartan squad sprinted over to the York student section to celebrate the win with the fans after the final buzzer.

The Spartans jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first half as Whaley scored York's first nine points on a trio of threes. The Spartan lead was as high as nine, at 21-12, but St. Mary's held York scoreless over a four and a half minute stretch to erase the lead. St. Mary's eventually took a three-point lead courtesy of a 14-2 run over the later stages of the stanza. The Seahawks went to the break holding a 28-27 lead, setting the stages for the very exciting second half of action.

Brady led the Spartans with a game-high 22 points, as he was 9-for-19 from the floor, 3-for-9 from three in addition to nailing his only free throw for the night. Whaley added 18 points, three assists, three steals, and a pair of rebounds for the Green and White. Senior Jeremy Keefer (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) came up huge as the forward pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds in addition to seven points and four assists. Junior Dylan Hoffman (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) played a big role in the win as the guard spent a majority of his night checking the very talented Seahawk guard Griffin, the CAC's leading scorer. Hoffman helped hold Griffin to ten points under his conference-leading average of 25.0 points per game.

Griffin led the Seahawks with 15 points, as the guard was 6-for-13 from three, 1-for-2 from three and 2-for-2 from the stripe. Franz continues to be an impressive player for St. Mary's as he notched the game's lone double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss. Franz was 4-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line. Jones added 13 points and seven rebounds in his 27 minutes on the floor while Hutchinson was the fourth Seahawk in double digits with 12 points in addition to six rebounds and there steals.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 40.4% from the floor but managed to convert 53.8% of their shots in the second half including 4-for-7 from distance. St. Mary's shot a tick better at 44.6% from the field for the game but made just 1-of-6 from three. Both teams were very good from the free throw line as York was 11-for-12 while St. Mary's went 10-for-12.

The Seahawks handled York on the glass, holding a 37-29 edge in rebounding. St. Mary's finished with a huge 42-28 bulge in points in the paint while the Seahawks also held a 16-4 margin in fast break points.

Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball as St. Mary's committed 23 turnovers while York had 21 miscues in the game.

The Spartans will have little time to enjoy the victory as they must turn around and host another good CAC squad in Wesley College on Monday evening. Tip time is set for 8:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gymnasium.

GAME BOX

Jeremy Keefer photo courtesy of Zach Clabaugh (http://www.sharpedgephoto.smugmug.com/)