YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball squad closed out their 2023-24 non-conference schedule with a hard-fought 60-56 win over Dickinson College Saturday afternoon at Wolf Gymnasium.
The Spartans used a late 13-2 run to pull away to earn the victory. York had three different players record double-doubles in the game.
York improves to 7-4 overall while the Red Devils fall to 4-7.
 
How It Happened
• The first half was back and forth for the entire 20 minutes. York got off to a quick start with back-to-back threes from Kai Cipalla and Jayden Rowe as the Spartans led 6-0. York eventually pushed the lead to 12-7 on a Tate Landis three five minutes into the game. The Red Devils clawed back and tied the game at 16 on a Nate Ogbu triple midway through the half. Shawn Barclay converted a traditional three-point play but Dickinson ripped off six quick points to take their first lead of the afternoon.
• York answered with a 12-4 run that gave the Spartans a 31-26 lead with 2:33 left in the half. The Red Devils scored five of the final seven points of the half to cut the Spartan lead to 33-31. York shot 48% in the first half but had seven turnovers. The Red Devils had six offensive rebounds that led to six second chance points.
• York opened the second half by scoring six of the first eight points to push their lead to six. Dickinson answered with a 7-2 run, cutting the York lead to 41-40. The Spartans got five straight points from Cipalla to increase the lead back to six with 11:35 left. York went cold for the next five minutes as the Red Devils outscored York 8-0 to take a 48-46 lead with just 7:30 remaining in the game.
• The Spartans fashioned a 13-2 game-clinching run over the next five minutes to push their lead to a game-high nine points (59-50). The Red Devils out-scored York 6-1 over the final 30 seconds but three of those points came on a half court heave at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net as time expired.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 37.1% from the floor while they were 4-for-19 (21.1%) from three … York was 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the stripe in the win … Dickinson shot 35.6% from the field, 29.4% (5-for-17) from three and 52.9% (9-for-17) from the stripe … York held a 45-42 edge on the glass but Dickinson had a 12-5 margin in second chance points … York finished the game with just eight turnovers after having seven in the first half … Dickinson had 11 turnovers while both teams scored 13 points off turnovers … York had a 38-26 edge in paint points … York started the game 3-for-3 from behind the arc but went 1-for-16 the rest of the game.
 
Spartan Notes
York has now won seven in a row against the Red Devils as the Spartans are now 16-8 all-time against Dickinson … the Spartans shot a season-worst 37.1% from the floor and their four three-point field goals were their lowest total of the season … York is now 7-1 when winning the battle on the glass … the Spartans' eight turnovers is their second lowest total of the season (7 vs. Randolph Macon) … the 56 points allowed was the Spartans' best defensive effort of the year … York was led by Kai Cipalla as he notched his fifth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds … Cipalla was 6-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the stripe … Cipalla scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half … Cipalla also had two steals, one block and one assist … Jackson Mascari recorded his third double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a pair of assists, a block and a steal … Mascari's double-double was the 11^th of his career … Chris Miers recorded his first collegiate double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds … Miers was 5-for-10 from the floor including 1-for-4 from three … Tate Landis was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 11 points while he also had three assists and a steal … the three players recording a double-double was the third time the feat has been reached since the 2000-2001 season … the last time three Spartans recorded double-doubles was December 6, 2008 when Spartan Hall of Famer Nick Brady had 27 points and 13 points, Jeremy Keefer had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Matt Moley had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Stevenson … in that game, two other Spartans, Andrew Pawlyk had nine points and 13 rebounds while Paul Kouvaris added 10 points and eight rebounds as they narrowly missed their own double-doubles … the other three player double-double came in the 2004-05 season opener against Mount Aloyisus at Albright as Paddy Lee had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Brian Singer had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Ben Seibert had 16 points and 10 rebounds … that win over Mount Aloyisus kick started a season in which the Spartans went 28-4, won the Capital Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four.
 
Up Next
The Spartans open conference play on Wednesday evening as they host Alvernia University in the back end of a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader. Tip time at Wolf Gym is set for 8:00 pm. The game will be the first of 14 conference contests that will conclude the Spartan regular season.

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