YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball squad dropped their third straight, falling to Albright 79-69 in MAC Commonwealth action on Wednesday in York. The Lions have now won two straight and four of their last five as they leveled their Commonwealth record at 4-4 while the Spartans finished their first trip through the league with a mark of 2-6.
 
Score: York 69, Albright 79
Records: York 6-7 (2-6 MAC Commonwealth), Albright 8-8 (4-4 MAC Commonwealth)
 
How It Happened
• The early stages of the game were back and forth as there were four ties and three lead changes in the opening eight minutes of the game. The Lions went on a quick 7-0 spurt to forge a 19-12 lead. The Spartans responded with a 10-3 run to tie the game for the sixth time as the score was knotted at 22.
• With 1:10 left in the opening half, York tied the game at 31 on a Travis Stoll three pointer. The Lions answered by ripping off six straight points to take a 37-31 lead. Stoll split a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the half as the Lions took a five-point lead to the break.
• The second half started with a Sidney Brown three and set the tone for the second half. Albright would increase their lead and the Spartans would come charging back, usually getting within two or three points only to have Albright make another run and keep the Spartans at arm's length.
• The Spartans had an early spurt thanks to Stoll and David Giuliani as the duo combined to score six points in the span 1:08 of game time, drawing York to within two at 44-42. The Lions answered with an 8-2 run to push their advantage to eight.
• The Lions increased their lead to 11 on a Sean Miller jumper with 7:52 left but York scored eight straight on threes from Chris Miers and Mark Rachic that sandwiched a pair of Jackson Mascari free throws as the Spartans trailed 61-58 with 6:50 left in the game.
• That would be as close as York would get the rest of the way as the Lions slowly pulled away to secure the ten-point win.
 
Spartan Leaders
David Giuliani: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Chris Miers: 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals
Travis Stoll: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 3 steals
Jackson Mascari: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
 
Spartan Stats
Albright shot 50% (30-for-60) from the floor and that's the highest shooting percentage by a Spartan opponent this year … both teams attempted 21 three pointers with Albright making eight and York converting six … the Lions were an abysmal 11-for-21 (53.4%) from the free throw line while York was 21-for-31 (67.7%) … York lost the battle on the boards by three (38-35) for the second straight game … York committed 19 turnovers, their highest total in their last four games … York registered 11 steals their most since getting 11 against Widener … the 11 steals ties a season high set in three different games this year.
 
Game Notes
York falls to 5-2 all-time against the Lions as Albright has won the last two games in the series … the last meeting came on December 29, 2013 when the Lions nipped the Spartans 59-54 in the championship game of the Albright Holiday Tournament … the Spartan three-game losing streak is the longest losing skid since the 2015-16 season when York dropped six straight at the end of the campaign … York is 93-36 since that skid … senior David Giuliani returned to the lineup in a big way as the forward poured in a game-high 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds for his team-leading fourth double-double of the year … Giuliani ranks fifth in the Commonwealth in scoring and is still first in rebounds per game (9.3) … fellow senior Travis Stoll reached double figures in scoring for the sixth time this season while sophomore Chris Miers found double figures for the fourth straight game and his seventh overall.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Saturday afternoon as they host Alvernia in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Game time is set for 3:00 pm. The game will be a fundraiser for the Hoops for T1D Heroes, celebrating our fans who are living with Type 1 Diabetes. All proceeds will go to the cause.