YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team staged a spirited second half comeback but it wouldn't be enough as Eastern University downed the Spartans 84-75 in MAC Commonwealth play on Saturday in York.
The win enabled the Eagles to lock up the top seed in the upcoming Commonwealth tournament.
 
Score: York 75, Eastern 84
Records: York 7-14 (3-13 MAC Commonwealth); Eastern 19-4 (14-2 MAC Commonwealth)
 
How It Happened
• The Eagles jumped out to a quick five point lead four minutes into the game. The Spartans got to within one at 13-12 but Eastern put together a 12-4 run to take a 25-16 lead. York got a Chris Miers bucket to stop the run but Eastern answered by ripping off a quick 7-0 spurt to forge a 32-18 lead. The Eastern lead would bounce between 11 and 14 points over the next five minutes. The Eagles would push the lead to 19 before settling for a 48-30 halftime lead.
• The Eagles came out of the break looking to blow the Spartans out of their own building as they lead grew to 21. The Spartans stemmed the tide and kept the Eagles from building their lead any bigger.
• With Eastern leading 66-47 with 12 minutes left in the game, the Spartans started making a move to get back into the game. York fashioned a prolonged 17-5 run that covered seven minutes of game time. That run cut York's deficit to seven at 71-64 with 3:19 left in the game. That would be as close as the Spartans would get as they couldn't dig themselves out of the first half hole. York had it in single digits four more times but Eastern did just enough to keep York from getting any closer.
 
SPARTAN LEADERS
Jackson Mascari: 17 points, 6-10 FG, 4-4 FT, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
David Giuliani: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Chris Miers: 14 points, 5 rebounds
Sean Kelly: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Travis Stoll: 9 points, 5 assists, 3 steals
 
SPARTAN STATS
Eastern finished the game shooting 52.5% from the floor after scorching the nets to the tune of 60.6% in the first half … York had 13 turnovers and Eastern turned those miscues into 18 points … the two teams combined to score 82 points in the paint (42-40 York) … the Spartan bench once again showed up as they outscored their Eastern counterparts 34-10 … York won the battle on the glass 38-32 … York shot 48.5% in the second half after converting just 39.3% in the first half … York struggled from the stripe in the first half as they went just 7-for-13 but were much better in the second, hitting 9-of-11 … the Eagles placed all five starters in double figures led by Jaron Fairweather as he tallied 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor including 3-of-3 from three and 1-for-3 from the free throw line.
 
SPARTAN NOTES
York is now 2-2 all-time against Eastern as the Eagles swept the season series from the Spartans … the Spartans secured the eighth seed in the conference tournament as they will host the 8/9 play in game on Monday night … freshman Jackson Mascari set a new career high with 17 points as he has 31 points in his last two games … Mascari also registered his second double-double of his career … Mascari's first double-double came in the win over St. Elizabeth as he had 13 points and 13 rebounds … senior Sean Kelly tied his career high with six rebounds in the game … senior Travis Stoll set a new career high with five assists … prior to the game, the Spartans recognized seniors David Giuliani, Travis Stoll, Riley Dobraniecki, and Colin Rimel for their contributions to the Spartan program.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will begin their trek through the MAC Commonwealth Tournament on Monday night as they will host Lebanon Valley in the conference's 8/9 play in game at Wolf Gymnasium. Tip time is set for 7:00 pm. The winner advances to Wednesday's quarterfinal round where they will head to St. David's, PA to face the top seeded Eastern Eagles.