SCRANTON, PA – The York College men's basketball team earned a split for the weekend at the Hilton Scranton Invitational on Saturday at the University of Scranton. The Spartans notched a 71-48 win over Houghton to capture the win.
York outscored Houghton 47-32 in the second half. York improves to 2-1 overall while the Highlanders fall to 0-3.
 
How It Happened
• The game off to a terribly slow offensive start as there was a combined six points in the first seven plus minutes of the game. The game was tied at eight at the 10:22 mark and Houghton took their final lead of the game on a Jajuan Preaster jumper with 9:49 left in the half. The Spartans answered with a 9-2 run to push out to a five-point lead. Houghton trimmed York's lead to one at 17-16 but York closed out the half with a 7-0 run to take a 24-16 lead to the half.
• York got off to a quick start in the second half as they blitzed the Highlanders with a 17-4 run to push out to a 41-20 lead. Houghton cut the Spartan lead to 13 with an 11-3 run but York quickly answered back 12-0 run that gave York a 25-point lead and put the game away for good with 8:44 left in the contest.
• Houghton cut the Spartan lead to 18 but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way as the Spartans settled for a 23-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans were ice cold in the first half as they shot just 29.4% from the floor … the second half was much different as they shot 50% (19-for-38) from the field en-route to a season-high 47-point half … York was 1-for-15 (6.7%) from three in the first half but rebounded to go 5-for-14 in the second half … the Spartans were not great from the free throw line as they went 7-for-15 (46.7%) from the stripe … Houghton went 0-for-11 from three for the game … Houghton out-rebounded York 42-39 … York forced a season-high 32 turnovers as they notched 20 steals … York scored 33 points off turnovers in the win … the Spartans had a 19-7 bulge in fast break points … the Spartan bench scored 20 points in the game.
 
Spartan Notes
This is the first meeting between the Spartans and Highlanders … The Spartans placed three players in double figures led by All-Tournament team selection Jackson Mascari as the sophomore forward had his second straight double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals in just 25 minutes of work … Kai Cipalla had 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 23 minutes of action … Jayden Rowe chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals for York … York played 14 players and had 11 players reach the scoring column … Freshman Tate Landis had a career-high seven rebounds and three steals in the win … York's 22 assists were as many as they had in the first two games combined … the Spartans 20 steals were more than their first two games (16) combined … the 71 points are a season-high … York held Houghton to 38.8% shooting from the floor, their lowest percentage by an opponent this year.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday evening when they head to Baltimore to face #10 Johns Hopkins in their annual non-conference clash. Tip time at Goldfarb Gymnasium is set for 7:00 pm.

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