David Sinclair Photography

Box Score

York (Pa.) YCP 14-12

Eastern EAST 18-8

York (Pa.) YCP

14-12

Final

Feb. 20, 2023

Eastern EAST

18-8

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
York (Pa.) YCP	36	28	64
Eastern EAST	36	34	70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/20/2023 9:59:00 PM | Derek Behrenshausen - Asst. Director of Athletic Communications

Men's Basketball Season Ends in Postseason Loss at Eastern

Jayden Rowe and Jackson Mascari each post double-doubles as Spartans fall in MACC 4/5 Game

ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - The Spartan men's basketball team saw their season come to an end Monday night in a 70-64 loss at Eastern in the MAC Commonwealth 4/5 Game.

The Spartans held the lead for a total of 19:34 throughout the night and owned a 58-56 lead with 8:12 left, but then suffered a seven-minute scoring drought which proved to be insurmountable as Eastern went on a 10-0 run during that span to seal the win.

Sophomore Jayden Rowe and junior Jackson Mascari led all players with 18 points each on the night. Rowe hauled in a team-best 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double performance. Mascari collected 10 boards for his sixth double-dobule of the season. Graduate guard Sean Kelly matched his season high with 10 points and recorded a career-high tying seven rebounds in his final game with the Green and White.

Team Records
York 14-12
Eastern 18-8

How It Happened
The Spartans came out sharp and opened the game on a 13-6 run to force an Eastern timeout just four minutes in so the Eagles could regroup. Spartan graduate guard Sean Kelly fueled the opening charge with a team-leading six points on that opening run.

The Eagles would go on to out-score the Spartans 11-6 over the next five minutes, but Pat Gilhool provided a spark off the bench to keep York out in front. Gilhool drained his first two shots of the game, both from beyond the arc, as the Spartans owned a narrow 19-17 lead at the midway point of the first half.

Following a Jayden Rowe free throw to convert a three-point play and give the Spartans a two-point lead with six seven seconds left, the Eagles went the length of the floor and beat the clock with a Kevin Reeves layup to tie the game, 36-36, heading into halftime. The two teams played a very even final 10 minutes after the Spartans had the upper hand to begin the first half. The two sides finished the first half with four ties and six lead changes.

Jackson Mascari led the Spartans with 10 points in the first half, followed by Rowe with eight. Reeves paced the Eagles with 10 first-half points and Sam Gallardo chipped in eight. Both teams shot around 44% from the floor through the first 20 minutes as Eastern owned a 20-16 edge in rebounds while each team had five turnovers.

The teams traded buckets to begin the second half with the Spartans edging out a three-point lead (55-52) through the first 10 minutes. Rowe led all players with 10 points during that span with Mascari adding five. York's 3-for-5 effort from the three-point arc made the difference in the opening minutes of the second half as they shot a rather efficient 7-for-13 from the floor.

The Spartans suddenly sputtered offensively the rest of the way. They suffered a seven minute scoring drought that started following a Kelly layup with 8:12 to go. The Eagles went on to score 10 points during that stretch and built up a 66-58 lead with 1:20 left that proved to be too much for York to overcome.

The Eagles doubled up the Spartans, 18-9, through the final 9:25 of the game as York shot 4-for-20 from the floor, including 0-for-8 from three-point range. Outside of that tough seven-minute stretch for York, both teams played an even second half. Both teams finished the half shooting 33% from the floor and around 54% from the free throw line. The Eagles held a slight edge in rebounding in the second half (27-23), while York turned the ball over 10 times to just six by the Eagles.

Up Next
Eastern advances to face No. 1 seed Alvernia Wednesday night in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals.

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