YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team picked up their second straight win with an 81-69 victory over Penn State Altoona in a non-conference contest in York on Tuesday evening. The Spartans had a 20-point lead in the first half but the Lions made the game close before York pulled away late in the second half.
The Spartans improve to 4-6 while the Lions fall to 3-6.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans fell behind early as Mason Bush got the Lions off to a quick start with a 5-0 run. The Green and White eventually tied the game at nine on a Chris Miers free throw at the 15:48 mark. The Spartans would trail by three but Miers canned a three that started a 33-7 run that gave York a 43-23 lead. The Spartans went 11-for-20 from the floor during the run which included four threes and a 7-for-9 performance from the free throw line.  York also had five steals during the spurt.
• The Lions responded with a half-ending 10-0 run that sliced the Spartan lead in half as York's lead was 43-33 at the break. The 20-point lead would be the biggest of the night for York.
• After Jackson Mascari scored to open the half, the Lions put together another run, this time a 13-0 spurt to take a 46-45 lead with 15:12 left in the game. Kai Cipalla snatched the lead right back with a lay-up at the 14:48 mark. York would not trail the rest of the way. Cipalla's bucket started a sustained 12-4 lead that gave York a 57-50 lead. York was 5-for-6 from the field on the run as their lead grew to seven at 57-50.
• Jayden Rowe came alive in the second half as the freshman guard drilled a three late in the shot clock to push York's lead to seven at 64-57. The Lions got to within five on a Dwayne Jones lay up at the 6:05 mark only to have the Spartans' Johnny Kennevan drilled a three from the left corner to push York's lead back to eight (69-61). The teams traded threes inside the five minute mark but Rowe would convert a traditional three point play to put the Spartans up by 11. The lead would not fall below ten the remainder of the game.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans shot 50% (30-for-60) from the floor, their second straight game with 50% or better shooting … the Spartans scored a season-high 81 points in the win … the Spartans held the Lions to their second-lowest point total of the year (67 at Marietta on December 6) … York limited the Lions to just 39.1% shooting in the game, their lowest total of the season … the Spartans committed a season-high 23 turnovers which the Lions converted into 34 points … York had 20 assists for the second game in a row and that's the third team they have gone over 20 assists in a game … the Spartans did not shoot well from the free throw line as they were 12-for-21 from the stripe (57.1%) … York won the battle of the boards (42-35) for just the third time of the year … York blocked four shots, their second-highest total of the year (5 at Dickinson, Nov. 11) … the Spartans registered 14 steals as they forced 22 Lion turnovers … York turned those 22 miscues into 24 points … the double digit steals marked the sixth time this year that the Spartans have reached double figures in the category … Mason Bush led the Lions with a season-high 29 points as he has reached double figures in four straight games … Saivon Word was the other Lion in double figures with 15 points while he also had six steals.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting was the first between the two programs … sophomore Kai Cipalla led the way for the Spartans with a career-high 24 points as he was 10-for-15 from the floor including a three and a 3-for-3 performance from the line … Cipalla added six rebounds and three steals to the Spartan effort … the Spartans placed a season-high five players in double figures … freshman Jayden Rowe set a new career-high with 17 points while he also pulled in five rebounds and tied his career-high with eight assists … Rowe also had a career-high three blocked shots and also had three steals for York … Rowe scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half… Jackson Mascari had another strong performance as the sophomore forward had 13 points and seven rebounds … Chris Miers and Sean Kelly both chipped in with 10 points each  … Miers also had five rebounds and an assist while Kelly added six rebounds and two steals … the Spartans have scored 157 points in their last two games, good for an average of 78.5 points per game while they are shooting 50.4% from the floor and 38.5% from three … York has 40 assists and 24 steals in their last two contests.
 
Up Next
The Spartans are now off until December 30 when they head to Bethlehem to play in the Steel Club Classic hosted by Moravian University. The Spartans will face FDU-Florham in the opening round of the tournament. Tip off in Bethlehem is slated for 6:30 pm.

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