YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team dropped a 72-65 MAC Commonwealth decision to Stevenson University at Charles Wolf Gymnasium on Wednesday night in York.
The Spartans had four players reach double figures but it wasn't enough as the Spartans dropped their third straight.
York is now 7-7 overall and 0-3 in the Commonwealth while Stevenson improves to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The two squads went back and forth early as the Green and White led 8-7 just over four minutes into the game. The Mustangs went on a quick 8-0 run to push out to a 15-8 lead with 13:18 left in the first half. York scored four of the next 11 points to pull to within four at 19-15. Another 8-0 Mustang run pushed the Stevenson lead to a game-high 12 points. Joey Lutz keyed the run with five points during the spurt.
• The Spartans clawed their way back into the game with a 13-1 run that tied the game at 28 with 1:39 remaining in the half. The run covered 4:29 of game time and was powered by Kai Cipalla with seven points while Chris Miers, Tate Landis, and James Iannelli each added a bucket on the spurt. York was 6-for-8 from the floor while Stevenson went 0-for-6 from the field. Stevenson's Rasheed Cooley hit a pair of free throws before Cipalla hit a bucket in the lane with 39 seconds left as the teams headed to the locker room tied at 30.
• The Spartans shot 52% in the first half while the Mustangs shot 31.4% from the floor. However, Stevenson had ten more attempts from the floor as York had eight turnovers. The Mustangs also corralled nine offensive rebounds in the opening half.
• Stevenson got off to a great start in the second half as they scored nine of the first 13 points of the stanza. The Mustangs eventually pushed the lead to nine on a Lutz three, putting Stevenson up 46-37 with 13:10 left in regulation. York again climbed back into the game with a sustained 18-9 run that tied the game at 55 with 7:11 left. The Spartans went 7-for-9 from the floor on the run including a trio of threes. Jayden Rowe led the way with nine points on the run while Landis added six points of his own.
• The Mustangs responded with a 6-0 spurt to take a 61-55 lead as Ronald Ayers had four points on the run. The Spartans cut the lead to three on a Miers bucket with 3:08 left. The teams traded baskets as York continued to trail by three with 1:35 remaining. The Mustangs outscored the Spartans 7-3 over the final 55 seconds of the game to salt away the win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 54% from floor including 26.3% (5-for-19) from three as they also went 6-for-10 (60%) from the line … Stevenson finished the game shooting 45.8% from the field including 29.4% (5-for-17) from three and 76.5% (13-for-17) from the stripe … the Mustangs held a 31-29 edge on the glass including 11 offensive rebounds for Stevenson … York had 18 turnovers which Stevenson turned into 22 points while York turned the Mustangs' 10 turnovers into 17 points … Stevenson had a 9-5 edge in second chance points … there were five ties and three lead changes … York held a 38-24 margin in paint points.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 17-7 all-time against the Mustangs as Stevenson has won three of the last four meetings … York has been out-rebounded in their last two games and are 0-5 when losing the battle on the glass … the Spartans 54% accuracy mark from the field is their second best shooting percentage of the season (63% against Delaware Valley) … the Spartans' 50 field goal attempts was a season-low … York has had nine games this year where their opponent makes more free throws than the Spartans attempt as the Mustangs made 13 free throws while York only attempted 10 … York's five three pointers made is their second lowest total of the year … York tied a season-low with three steals … Kai Cipalla led the Spartans in scoring with 19 points as he was 8-for-9 from the floor while he was 3-for-5 from the stripe … Cipalla added three rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in his 32 minutes of play … Tate Landis and Jayden Rowe each notched 13 points … Landis was 4-for-8 from the floor including 3-for-4 from three and 2-for-2 from the line … Rowe was 6-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-3 from three … Rowe added three rebounds and one assist … Chris Miers was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 10 points while he also had four rebounds … Jackson Mascari led York on the boards with 11 points in addition to his eight points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head on the road for a two-game road trip starting Saturday at Messiah. Tip time from Hitchcock Arena in Grantham is set for 4:00 pm.