READING, PA – The York College men's basketball squad ran their win streak to five with an 81-71 MAC Commonwealth win at Albright College on Wednesday evening. The win was the first conference win of the year for the Spartans.
Sophomore Kai Cipalla tallied a career-high 30 points to lead three Spartans in double figures.
The Spartans are now 7-6 overall and 1-4 in the MAC Commonwealth. Albright falls to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in the league as they have dropped four straight.
 
How It Happened
• Albright got off to a very fast start as they put a 15-4 run on the Spartans in the opening 5:01 of the game. The 11-point lead was the Lions biggest of the game and they would maintain the lead until late in the first half. With the Lions leading 18-8, the Spartans fashioned a 13-3 run thanks to six points from Chris Miers, four from Kai Cipalla, and a three from Jayden Rowe. The Lions responded with an 11-2 spurt of their own to take a 37-28 lead with 1:23 left in the half. Cipalla hit a lay-up and Rowe buried a three pointer in the final 1:04 of the half as York trailed 37-33 at the break.
• The Lions were on fire from deep in the opening half as they went 8-for-14 (57.1%) from distance. In fact, eight of the Lions' 13 field first half field goals came from behind the arc.
• The second half was back and forth at the start. The Spartans tied the game for the second time on a pair of Miers free throws 2:10 into the half. That kicked off a 10-minute stretch of back and forth basketball. There would be six total ties and six lead changes until Jackson Mascari drilled a three pointer with 6:50 left to give York a 62-60 lead.
• The Spartans built the lead to nine on a Cipalla triple with 3:26 left in the game. The Spartan lead would not fall below six the rest of the way. Miers and Sean Kelly each converted a pair of free throws in the final 40 seconds to salt away the win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans outscored the Lions 48-34 in the second half … the Spartans shot 57.1% from the field (16-for-28) from the floor in the second half … York went 11-for-14 from the free throw line in the second half … the Green and White shot 50.8% for the game, the third straight game they have shot over 50% for the game … the Spartans dished out another 22 assists as they now have at least 20 assists in all five of their games on the win streak … York had another 10 steals in the game as they have had double figures in thefts in their last five games … York scored 23 points off 19 Albright turnovers … the Spartans dominated the points in the paint, 44-20 … both teams finished the game with 33 rebounds but York had an 11-4 margin in second chance points … York held Albright to 41.4% shooting (12-for-29) in the second half … the Lions had four players in double figures led by Robert Magnum as he tallied 16 points.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have won two straight in the series as they are now 7-2 all-time against Albright … sophomore Kai Cipalla tallied a new career-high with 30 points as he was a blistering 13-for-14 from the floor including 1-for-2 from three and 3-for-4 from the line … Cipalla also had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals … Cipalla set his previous career high of 24 points in the December 20 win over Penn State Altoona … he has reached double figures in ten of his 13 Spartan games … Cipalla is now shooting 60.2% from the floor for the year as he leads the MAC Commonwealth in field goal percentage while he is fifth in scoring at 13.7 points per game … Chris Miers added 19 points to the Spartan effort as he was 7-for-10 from the floor including one three pointer and a 4-for-4 from the stripe … Miers has reached double figures in eight games … Jayden Rowe was the third Spartan in double figures with 12 points while he also had five assists and two steals … Jackson Mascari had another career high in assists with nine while he added nine points and three rebounds … Mascari has handed out 27 assists in the last five games for York.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home on Saturday afternoon as they welcome former Capital Athletic Conference rival Christopher Newport to Wolf Gymnasium. Tip time against the #7 Captains is set for 3:00 pm.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans
Full Game Audio