ST. DAVID'S, PA - The Eastern University men's basketball team remains unbeaten in the MAC Commonwealth as they downed York 79-64 on Saturday in St. David's, PA.
The Eagles have now won 12 straight as they improve to 7-0 in the league. After a close first half, the Eagles ran away from the Spartans in the second half, outscoring York 38-26 in the stanza.
 
Score: York 64, Eastern 79
Records: York 6-6 (2-5 MAC Commonwealth), Eastern 12-2 (7-0 MAC Commonwealth)
 
How It Happened
• The two teams were back and forth early as neither team was able to gain meaningful control of the game. The Eagles took a 19-13 lead on a Sam Gallardo three at the 10:04 mark. The Spartans responded with a 7-0 spurt capped with a Mark Rachic triple as York took a 20-19 lead.
• That began a back and forth stretch were there were three quick lead changes before the Eagles went on a 10-2 run to take a 31-24 lead at the 5:21 mark. York responded with a quick 7-1 run to draw to within one at 32-31. The Spartans would eventually take a 38-36 lead on a Chris Miers lay-up but Eastern would quickly tie the game on their next possession before taking a 41-38 halftime lead.
• The teams exchanged baskets to open the half but the Eagles then went on a 15-5 run that covered almost five minutes of play. That run gave the Eagles a 13-point lead with 14:23 left in the game. The Spartans trimmed the lead to eight at 58-50 but both teams would go scoreless over the next 3:23 until Sean Kelly hit a free throw for York. That is as close as the Spartans would get as the Eagles pulled away late.
• Eastern closed the game on a 19-11 run over the final 8:16 of the game to salt away the win.  
 
Spartan Leaders
Colin Rimel: 16 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 4-for-6 3PT FG
Chris Miers: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Jackson Mascari: 7 rebounds, 3 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot
Sean Kelly: 9 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 1 blocked shot
 
Spartan Stats
Eastern shot 45.8% from the floor while York shot 41.7% from the field … York attempted just seven free throws while Eastern was just 5-for-13 (38.5%) from the charity stripe … The seven free throw attempts and five makes were a season low for the Green and White … York was out-rebounded by ten (44-34), tying their largest deficit on the glass for the season … York had won the battle on the boards in each of their last seven games … the teams combined for just seven steals as York had three and Eastern had four … both teams took good care of the ball as York had 11 miscues while Eastern had seven mistakes … the seven turnovers for Eastern ties a season low for a Spartan opponent as Hood had just seven turnovers on Wednesday night.
 
Game Notes
The Spartans are now 2-1 all-time against Eastern as the teams will now meet as conference opponents at least twice per year … the last time the squads met was January 4, 2008 as York picked up a 99-76 win in the opening round of the White Rose City Classic at Charles Wolf Gymnasium … it was determined by the MAC Administration that the Spartans' January 5 forfeit against Stevenson would stand and the loss would be giving to the Green and White … the MAC Administration also decided that all nine teams will make the MAC Commonwealth playoffs, a change from the top five format that has been standard in the league … senior Colin Rimel set a new career high for the second straight game as he led the Green and White with 16 points … Rimel is 9-for-17 from three in the last two games for York … sophomore Chris Miers has reached double figures in each of the last three games as he has 40 points in the last three contests … Miers now has six double figure efforts for the Green and White this year … freshman Jackson Mascari has done a good job on the glass in his last three games as he has 23 rebounds in those games.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home on Wednesday night to host Albright to close out the first round of MAC Commonwealth games. The game kicks off a two-game home stand for the Spartans. Tip time is scheduled for 8:00 pm as part of a Commonwealth twin bill with the women starting at 6:00 pm.