ARLINGTON, VA – The York College men's basketball team saw their six-game win streak come to a hard-to-swallow end as Marymount University handed the Spartans a 90-88 overtime loss on Wednesday in Arlington, VA. With the loss, the Spartans fall to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in the CAC while the Saints improve to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the league with the win.

The Spartans had double digit leads in both halves but the Saints used a furious comeback in the final four minutes of the game to snatch a home victory. The Spartans took a 75-64 lead on a Jeremy Keefer (Palymra, Pa./Palmyra) lay up with 3:43 remaining in regulation. The Saints scored the next ten points until Nick Brady (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) spilt a pair of free throws to give York a 76-73 lead with 1:48 remaining. Two Sam Sentz free throws cut the lead to one before Tarek Ammoury split a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left to tie the game at 76. After Keefer drew a foul with 40 seconds left, he missed both free throws and the Saints got yet another foul call and Ammoury sank both freebies to give Marymount a two point lead. Keefer redeemed himself in a big way as he drained a jumper from the elbow with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 78.

York took a three-point lead in overtime on a pair of Brady free throws with 2:42 left in the extra session. The Saints scored the next six points as Spartan after Spartan fouled out in the contest. With Marymount leading 87-84, freshman Mitch Kemp (York, Pa./York Suburban) sank a pair of free throws to pull the Green and White to within one at 87-86 with 25 ticks left. Ammoury sunk two more free throws to push the lead back to three but the Spartans would be unable to convert on their next trip, and York was forced to foul. Bryan DeBruin split a pair of free throws to push the lead to 90-86 with 12 seconds left. York got a final lay up from Mo Oursler (Middletown, Md./Middletown), fouled Ammoury and got a pair of free throw misses with three seconds left but York's final shot could not find the mark and the Spartans suffered just their second loss of the year.

In the first half, the Saints led by six five minutes into the game but York tied the game shortly after. With York up by two, they embarked on a 10-0 run that pushed their lead to a half-high of 12 points at 37-25 with 3:49 left in the opening 20 minutes. The Saints refused to roll over and they answered York's run with a 12-3 spurt that cut the Spartans' halftime lead to three at 40-37.

The loss for York is the first time they have lost when leading at the half as they are now 9-1.

Seven Spartans fouled out in the contest as they were whistled for 40 fouls in the 45 minutes of play. Conversely, the Saints had one player disqualified and were called for 30 infractions.

Ammoury led the Saints with a game-high 30 points and 11 rebounds. He was 7-for-11 from the floor and 15-for-22 from the free throw line. Patrick Prewitt added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor including a three pointer. DeBruin chipped in 12 points with eight of those coming from the free throw line. Stephen Simoneau contributed 10 points in his 30 minute of action.  

Brady led the Spartans with 22 points in 40 minutes of play. The Spartan senior was 6-for-12 from the floor, 3-for-7 from three and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. He pulled down eight rebounds and was the only Spartan starter not to foul out in the game. Keefer had a strong game with 15 points and six rebounds, as he was 7-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-3 from the line. Sophomore Paul Kouvaris (Baltimore, Md./Cardinal Gibbons), the two-time reigning CAC Player of the Week, added 13 points and three rebounds in his 28 minutes of action. Junior Kevin Whaley (Dover, Pa./Dover) added 11 points as the fourth double figure scorer for York.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 47.5% from the floor and 35.3% from the three-point line. York struggled a bit from the free throw line as they went 26-for-39 (66.7%). The Saints converted 44.6% from the field including 5-for-9 from three. The Saints made 49 trips to the free throw line, converting 35 of those chances, good for a 71.4% mark.

Marymount handled the Spartans on the glass as they held a 41-31 edge as the Saints also had a 21-12 advantage in second chance points. The Spartans forced 21 turnovers, which they turned into 38 points. Marymount converted York's 20 turnovers into 22 points.

Tonight's game began a tough stretch of the Spartan schedule as they play three straight on the road and five of the next six away from the friendly confines of Charles Wolf Gymnasium. The Spartans take their second step on the trip with a road game at Hood College on Saturday evening. Tip time at Ft. Detrick in Frederick, MD is set for 6:00 pm. A reminder to all Spartan fans, that to gain admittance to the game, you must provide a valid government ID at the front gate. For additional information, please check www.ycpspartans.com.

FT. DETRICK INFORMATION