YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball squad dropped a heartbreaking 61-60 decision to Widener University on Saturday in a MAC Commonwealth contest in York.
The Spartans overcame an 11 point second half deficit but couldn't get the final shot to fall as the Pride escaped with the conference victory.
 
Score: York 60, Widener 61
Records: York 6-12 (2-11 MAC Commonwealth); Widener 10-11 (5-8 MAC Commonwealth)
 
How it Happened
• The game was a close affair over the first 14 minutes of the game. There were three ties and eight lead changes during that segment of the game. The final tie came at 22 on a Steven Matlack lay up with 6:03 left in the half. He then hit a free throw to give the Pride a one point lead. That three point play kick started a game-changing 14-3 run that gave Widener a 34-25 halftime lead.
• The Spartans really hurt themselves in the first half with 12 turnovers that Widener turned into 10 points.
• The Spartans came out of the break and trimmed their deficit to three just four minutes into the half. The Pride responded by quickly pushing the lead back to eight. Widener slowly kept building on their lead until it reached a game-high 11 on a Kenny Lewis lay up with 6:26 left in the game.
• York answered the Widener thrust with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to two. Sophomore Johnny Kennevan had a steal and a score and a three pointer on the run to power the Green and White. The Pride pushed the lead back to six on a Matt Daulerio three with 2:31 left in the game. David Giuliani hit a lay up to get the Spartans to within four at 61-57. After a stop, Sean Kelly split a pair of free throws with 54 seconds left. After another defensive stop for the Spartans, Kelly converted a lay up to cut the Spartan deficit to one.
• York then fouled Matlack who missed the front end of the one-and-one. Jackson Mascari collected the rebound as the Spartans called timeout with 12.1 seconds left. The Pride got a deflection on the first inbound play but York got the ball back. They second time, York was able to get the ball up and Travis Stoll was forced to get off a tough off-balance shot for the winner but the ball was short as the Pride hung on for the victory.
 
Spartan Leaders
David Giuliani: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Johnny Kennevan: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Sean Kelly: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Jackson Mascari: 4 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
 
Spartan Stats
The Spartans finished the game with 14 turnovers but just two in the second half when they outscored Widener 35-27 … the Spartans held Widener to just 36.2% shooting for the game, one of the best defensive efforts of the year … York went 6-for-25 (24%) from three while Widener was 6-for-19 (31.6%) from distance … the Spartans struggled from the line for the second straight game as they went just 8-for-14 (57.1%) while Widener had just seven free throw attempts in the contest … York won the battle on the glass by 10 … York has had 12 games in which they have won the rebounding stat.
 
Spartan Notes
The Pride swept the regular season battle with the Spartans by a combined nine points … York is now 1-6 all-time against Widener …Widener has won four straight in the series … sophomore Johnny Kennevan had a career day as the guard tallied 11 points … Kennevan was 4-for-5 from the floor including 3-for-4 from three … he also tied his career-high with four rebounds while his 19 minutes of action was also a new career-high.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head to first-place Hood on Wednesday to face the Blazers in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Hood has won seven straight coming into Wednesday's game. Tip time in Frederick is set for 8:00 pm.