YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team rode the strength of a strong first half to earn their first home win, 83-77, over previously unbeaten Arcadia University on Wednesday night in York.
After a pair of tight losses to begin their home slate, the Spartans got off to a fantastic start before having to weather a spirited Knight comeback in the second half.
York improves to 3-2 overall while the Knights fall to 5-1 for the year.
 
How It Happened
• After being off since November 18, the Spartans came out and played well early as they started the game on a 13-2 run. The Spartans had five different scorers during the run led by Kai Cipalla as the junior forward tallied four points. York was 6-for-7 from the floor, 1-for-1 from three during the opening run.  
• York maintained the lead around 11 over the next four minutes and then went on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 28-11 with 7:27 remaining in the half. Again, it was a team effort as four different Spartans scored during the spurt. The Green and White pushed the lead to 19 on a James Iannelli triple, increasing the lead to 33-14 with 4:07 left in the stanza.
• The Knights trimmed their halftime deficit to 14 at 39-25 thanks to an 9-3 run to end the half. York shot 53.1% for the half while the Knights were held to a 39.3% accuracy mark in the first half including 0-for-5 from three. Both teams were bad from the free throw line as each team went a paltry 2-for-7 from the stripe.
• York came out of the break and fashioned a 9-0 run. Jayden Rowe hit a pair of threes that sandwiched a Cipalla three-point play as the Spartan lead grew to 23. The Knights responded with a 14-0 run as they clawed their way to within nine at 48-39. The run was fueled by four Spartan turnovers that the Knights turned into six points. The teams traded points over the next two minutes of play but Rowe hit back to back buckets to push the lead back to 13 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
• The Knights answered with a quick 12-2 run, slicing the Spartan lead to just five at 59-54 with 8:49 left. Josh Parks led the Knights with five points on the run as Arcadia was 5-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-3 from deep. The Spartan lead vacillated from five to nine points before the Spartans ripped off an 8-1 run to push the lead to 15 at 73-59 with 3:17 left.
• The Knights tried to make it interesting at the end as they put together a 10-2 run, cutting York's lead to six at 75-69 with 59 seconds left in the game. The teams combined to score 16 points over the final 58 seconds of the game. Thankfully, the Spartans were able to 8-for-9 from the free throw line to earn the final six-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 48.2% from the floor, 35.3% (6-for-17) from three and 23-for-33 (69.7%) from three … Arcadia shot 44.8% from the field, 27.8% (5-for-18) from three and 63.2% (12-for-19) from the free throw line … the Spartans committed 16 turnovers which Arcadia turned in 16 points while the Knights had 12 turnovers that York was able to turn into 17 points … Arcadia held a 44-40 edge in paint points … the Spartan bench outscored their Knight counterparts 33-11 … the Spartans were 21-for-26 from the line in the second half.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 4-0 all-time against the Knights … the last three meetings have occurred in each season since 2021 … Arcadia is the defending MAC Freedom champions and were picked first in the league in the preseason coaches poll … Jayden Rowe led the three Spartans in double figures with 18 points while he also had four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal in 27 minutes … Kai Cipalla notched his third career double-double and second straight with 16 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds … Cipalla was limited to just five first half minutes as he picked up a pair of quick fouls … Cipalla had 12 points and eight rebounds in the second half including going 8-for-11 from the free throw line … Chris Miers added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in his 29 minutes off the bench … Miers went 8-for-9 from the free throw line including 8-for-8 in the second half … Jackson Mascari led York with six assists while he also had seven rebounds and six points in 32 minutes … the win snaps a two-game Spartan losing streak … York won the battle on the boards for the fourth time in five games this year … York had a season-high five blocked shots … York committed a season-high 16 turnovers in the win … the Spartans crossed the 80 point threshold for the third time in five games.
 
Up Next
The Spartans conclude their season-high four game home stand on Saturday as they host Delaware Valley in a non-conference contest. Tip time at Wolf Gymnasium is set for 5:00 pm.

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