ASHLAND, VA – The York College men's basketball team picked up a dramatic 76-72 overtime win over a veteran Johns Hopkins University squad on Thursday night in the opening round of the R-MC Coaches Tournament sponsored by Kay Jewelers in Ashland, Virginia.

RECORDS

York (Pa.): 7-3

Johns Hopkins: 3-5

TEAM STATS

FG Shooting (%): York 23-for-55 (41.8%), JHU 22-for-57 (38.6%)

Three Point Shooting (%): York 7-for-21 (33.3%), JHU 5-for-19 (26.3%)

Free Throw Shooting (%): York 23-for-36 (63.9%), JHU 23-for-35 (65.7%)

Rebounding: York 38, JHU 45

Assists: York 15, JHU 16

Turnovers: York 22, JHU 22

Blocked Shots: York 1, JHU 2

Steals: York 10, JHU 13

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The game was a hard-nosed battle between two good squads from the beginning. The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 6-3 lead just under four minutes into the game. Scoring was at a premium in the first half as the two squads locked the other down defensively.

• The Spartans went on a 7-0 run to take a 10-6 lead two minutes later. The Blue Jays eventually tied the game at ten, starting a six-minute spurt of back-and-forth basketball. The Spartans finally got a little momentum with a 7-0 run that pushed their lead to 22-15 with 7:23 left in the first half.

• York built their lead to nine at 26-17 on a Matt Scamuffo three pointer and that proved to be York's biggest lead of the game. The Blue Jays answered York's lead with a 7-0 run that sliced York's lead to a pair at 27-25 with 2:25 left in the half. Freshman Zach Novick pushed the lead back to six with a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left but the Blue Jays got a pair of Austin Vasiliadis free throws five seconds later to provide for the 34-30 Spartan lead at the half.

• The start of the second half was a much different story as the Blue Jays came out of the intermission and punched the Spartans in the mouth with a 13-0 run to start the second half. York got their first points of the second half with 3:49 into the stanza with a Blayde Reich free throw. By that time, York found themselves down eight and the Blue Jays holding all the momentum. Michael Gardner hit a three pointer with 14:48 left in regulation, pushing Hopkins' lead to a game-high 11 points, 46-35.

• The Blue Jays led 53-43 at the 10:48 mark and that's when the Spartans started making their move to get back into the game. York embarked on a 15-3 run, erasing their deficit and giving them a 58-56 lead with 5:36 left in regulation.

• York kept the momentum rolling as the Green and White got a Scamuffo three with 3:22 left, giving the Spartans a 65-59 lead. The veteran Jays were not about to roll over and give the game to York. JHU answered with a 7-1 spurt, tying the game at 66 with 1:56 remaining in regulation.

• Both teams had chances to end the game in regulation. York had a missed layup with 14 seconds left in their final possession. The Blue Jays could have won the game at the horn as Noah Ralby missed a jumper with just under three seconds left. Sam Gordon got the rebound but couldn't get a great handle on the ball as his put back attempt hit the bottom of the rim and that miss was rebounded by Zack Galic to secure the overtime period.

• York got off to a great start in overtime as the Spartans scored five of the first seven points of overtime to push out to a 73-68 lead.  Hopkins trimmed the lead to 73-72 but York got a Jason Bady free throw to increase the lead to two with 48 seconds left. The Spartans drew an offensive foul and Brad Wesner split a pair of free throws, giving York a three-point lead with 21.7 seconds left. After a Blue Jay timeout, Gardner missed a tough, contested three and Scamuffo secured the rebound and was fouled. He split the pair with 3.1 seconds left as York earned the four-point win.

SPARTAN LEADERS

Matt Scamuffo: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steals

Jason Bady: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Blayde Reich: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Zack Galic: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 steals

Zach Novick: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3-for-3 from the floor & 2-for-2 from three

BLUE JAY LEADERS

Sam Gordon: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Michael Gardner: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4-for-8 from three

Daniel Vila: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, three steals

Austin Vasiliadis: 7 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 steals

GAME NOTES

The Spartans are 5-1 all-time against Hopkins …. This is the first meeting between the two squads since December 4, 1987 in St. Mary's City, Maryland … the Spartans are now 2-0 in overtime having also beaten Messiah 73-69 in an extra session in the Spartans' home opener on November 22 … the 22 turnovers for York were a season-high for the Green and White … the Spartans' forced a season-high 22 turnovers, their largest total since forcing 21 in the season opener at Gettysburg … York collected 10 steals, the second time this year they have reached double figures (a season-high 13 at Gettysburg) … JHU shot 35 free throws, the highest total against York this season as the previous high was 32 against Stevenson … York will play in their second tournament championship game of the year as they advanced to the F&M Rotary Tip-Off championship game before falling to F&M in the title game … both of York's overtime wins this year have come by four points … the Spartans played their second game without the services of senior Dalton Myers who is hoping to return to the lineup for conference play on January 4 … freshman Darin Gordon finished the game with a career-high nine points … York is now 5-0 when leading at the half … the Spartans placed five players in double figures for the first time this season … the four point win is York's sixth win by nine points or fewer this year.

LAST FIVE VS. JOHNS HOPKINS        

Dec. 4, 1987 Loss @ St. Mary's City, Maryland, 83-74

Nov. 23, 1985 Win @ YCP, 73-66

Dec. 5, 1981 Win @ YCP, 87-74

Nov. 20, 1981 Win @ Grantham, Pa., 78-67

Jan. 8 1980 Win @ JHU, 70-69

UP NEXT

The Spartans will play the host Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets in the tournament championship game at 7:00 pm. Hopkins and FDU-Florham will face off for third place in the 5:00 pm consolation game contest.

Audio highlights courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans