LANCASTER, PA – The York College men's basketball fashioned in impressive come-from-behind victory on Friday night in the opening round of the Lancaster Rotary Tip Off Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall College. The Spartans edged St. Vincent College 69-65 in the opening round of the tournament. The Spartans will face the host Diplomats in the championship game after F&M earned an overtime win over Lancaster Bible in the the tournament's other semifinal.

RECORDS

York (Pa.): 2-0

St. Vincent: 0-2

TEAM STATS

FG Shooting (%): York 20-for-45 (44.4%), St. Vincent: 26-for-54 (48.1%)

Three Point Shooting (%): York 3-for-14 (21.4%), St. Vincent: 4-for-19 (21.1%)

Free Throw Shooting (%): York 26-for-39 (66.7%), St. Vincent: 9-for-14 (64.3%)

Rebounding: York 33, St. Vincent 33

Assists: York 14, St. Vincent 11

Turnovers: York 11, St. Vincent 14

Blocked Shots: York 3, St. Vincent 2

Steals: York 7, St. Vincent 8

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The first half was a back and forth affair for the two squads. The teams were tied at 12 when the Bearcats hit the Spartans with a 10-3 run to take a 22-15 lead with 7:32 left in the first half. The Bearcats pushed their lead to as high as eight twice during the final six minutes of the first half. The Spartans were able to trim the St. Vincent to five at 34-29 heading into the intermission.

• The Bearcats opened the second half by pushing their lead to a game-high nine (42-33) on a Matt D'Amico lay up with 15:38 left in the game.

• York erased the St. Vincent lead with a 17-3 run capped by a pair of Jason Bady free throws with 7:33 left in the game. St. Vincent would come back to tie the game at 50 on their next possession with a Jason Capco three-point play.

• The 50-50 tie would be the first of four ties over the next six minutes of the game. The final tie would come at 63-63 on a Jared Wagner lay up with 1:35 left in the game.

• The Spartans would rebound a missing St. Vincent free throw with 1:00 minute left in regulation as Blayde Reich collected the defensive rebound. Dalton Myers would miss a lay up but Reich would collect a key offensive rebound. He was then fouled and sank both free throws with 40 seconds left in the game. The Spartans got another miss from the Bearcats and again, Reich got the rebound and got the ball in the hands of top free throw shooter Matt Scamuffo. Scamuffo was fouled and converted both free throws for a 67-63 Spartan lead with 10 seconds left in the game.

• The teams would exchange fruitless possessions before Coy Patterson was fouled with four seconds left. He hit both free throws to bring St. Vincent to within two at 67-65 but Scamuffo was fouled and sank both free throws to seal the win and move York to the tournament finals.  

SPARTAN LEADERS

Blayde Reich: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal

Matt Scamuffo: 17 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal

Jason Bady: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals

BEARCAT LEADERS

Tom Kromka: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steals

Coy Patterson: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals.

Mike Simmons: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal

GAME NOTES

The Spartans are now 2-0 all-time against St. Vincent … York went 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 40 seconds of the game … junior Blayde Reich set a new career-high with 22 points as he was 8-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the line … sophomore Jason Bady continued his outstanding early season play as he tallied a career-high 10 points while he also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals … Bady's six rebounds ties his career high while the four assists sets a new career standard for Bady … junior Matt Scamuffo made another three in the win as he now has 99 career three point field goals in 51 games for York … the Spartans have had back-to-back games of just 11 turnovers, the lowest two game total since November 20 and 25, 2012  when York had 11 turnovers against Messiah followed by just nine against Gettysburg for a two game total of 20 …. York has notched 20 steals in two games with Bady leading the way with six while freshman Jared Wagner has four … York has 22 turnovers in two games while their opponents have 35 miscues … York is plus four in the assist to turnover category … York has finished even in rebounding in both games this year … York has made more free throws this year (35) than their opponents have attempted (28).

UP NEXT

The Spartans head to Lancaster on Friday night as they will face St. Vincent in the opening round of the F&M Rotary Tip Off Classic hosted by Franklin & Marshall. The Spartans and Bearcats tip off at 5:30 pm followed by F&M and Lancaster Bible in the 7:30 pm. Saturday's consolation game tips at 5:30 followed by the championship game at 7:30 pm.

Blayde Reich photo courtesy of David Sinclair Photography