YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team dropped a second straight close game as they fell to the Gettysburg Bullets 88-87 in double overtime at Wolf Gym on Saturday afternoon. The game was full of dramatic action and physical play as the two teams needed an extra ten minutes of game time to decide the winner.
York got a career high 33 points and 13 rebounds from junior forward Kai Cipalla in the setback.
The Spartans fall to 2-2 overall while the Bullets climb to 3-1.
 
How It Happened
• The Bullets jumped on the Spartans early as they led 19-8 just under eight minutes into the game. The Spartans went on an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to five on a Jayden Rowe three with 11:11 left in the half. Back to back threes from Tate Landis cut the Gettysburg lead to three at 29-26 but the Bullets quickly pushed the lead back to eight before settling for a 37-31 lead after 20 minutes of play.
• York came roaring out of the half as they ripped off a 10-3 spurt to take a 41-40 lead. The teams went back and forth over the next six minutes as there were two ties and six lead changes. With the Bullets leading 44-43, the Spartans went on a 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 8:39 left in regulation. Chris Miers had five points from the free throw line while Kai Cipalla capped the run with a thunderous fast break dunk.
• The Spartan lead reached nine two more times with the final one being a 57-48 advantage with 6:11 left on the clock. The Bullets started their comeback with a Jordan Stafford three-point play followed by a Rassoul Abakar three that trimmed the York lead to three. Ryan McKeon followed with a jumper, cutting the Spartan lead to 57-56. Jackson Mascari drilled a three to put York back up by four but a pair of Carl Shaller free throws followed by a Nate Williams three put the Bullets back up by a point. York answered with a Miers three and a Mascari lay-up to put York up four with 1:44 left. Nate Williams hit another big Gettysburg three and the Spartans turned the ball over on the next possession and committed a foul to put Williams at the line. Williams nailed a pair to put Gettysburg up 66-65. Another empty possession for York forced the Spartans to foul but they got a Gettysburg miss at the line.
• After a timeout, the Spartans crafted an outstanding play that set up Cipalla for a lob but he was hammered without a call and York was forced to foul again. Williams converted two more free throws as the Bullets led by three with 13 seconds left. The Spartans inbounded the ball and Gettysburg smartly let the clock run down before fouling Mascari with 3.1 seconds left. Mascari nailed the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second and Rowe came up huge with an offensive rebound and put back to tie the game at 68. Gettysburg wouldn't get a good look at the buzzer as the teams headed for an extra period.
• York had an early lead in the first overtime but the Bullets eventually took a 75-72 lead with 2:09 remaining. Cipalla split a pair of free throws to bring York to within two. He then got a lay-up to tie the game with 38 seconds showing on the clock. The Bullets' Rassoul Abakar missed two free throws with 13 seconds left and York would get two shots before the buzzer but both missed the mark, setting the stage for a second overtime.
• The Spartans got an early lead in the second overtime before the Bullets tied the game at 80 with 2:03 left. Williams hit his fifth and final three of the day with 1:30 left to give the Bullets a lead they would not lose. McKeon made it 85-80 on a bucket in the paint with 31 seconds left. Rowe cut the lead to three but York had to foul and Schaller made a pair with 10 seconds left. Cipalla got a fast break bucket to cut the deficit to three. York got a steal on the ensuing inbounds play but a rushed shot resulted in the ball going out of bounds to Gettysburg. The Spartans fouled immediately but McKeon made the second of two to push the lead to four. Cipalla drained a three at the buzzer but it would be one point short as York dropped their second straight home game.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 44.2% from the floor, 33.3% (7-for-21) from three and 66.7% (12-for-18) from the stripe … the Bullets shot 49.2% from the floor including 53.8% in the first half while they converted 8-for-18 (44.4%) from three and 20-for-26 (76.9%) from the line … York held a 42-38 led on the glass while resulted in a 16-14 margin in second chance points … the Green and White had a 48-36 edge in paint points … York forced 16 Gettysburg turnovers which York turned into 17 points.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans see their four game win streak against the Bullets come to an end as Gettysburg now holds the lead in the all-time series 16-14 … the game was the first between the two programs since November 13, 2018 … junior Kai Cipalla poured in a career-high 33 points while he also pulled in a career-high 13 rebounds … Cipalla was 15-for-25 from the floor including 2-for-4 from three and 1-for-2 from the line … the junior also had four assists and a blocked shot in his 42 minutes of play … junior Jackson Mascari added 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists to the Spartan offense … senior Chris Miers came off the bench to tally 10 points and four rebounds … Miers was 7-for-8 from the free throw line … sophomore Jayden Rowe added 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot … sophomore Nick Schroeder recorded a career-high four steals in the game … the Spartans' 77 field goal attempts were a season-high … York attempted a season-high 18 free throws as they also made a season-high 12 … York has won the rebounding battle in three of their four games for the year … York has forced 57 turnovers in four games, an average of 14.3 per game … the Spartans two losses have come by a combined three points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will be off until November 29 when they continue their four-game home stand with a non-conference game against Arcadia. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 7:00 pm.