GRANTHAM, PA – The York College men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a solid 72-58 road victory at Messiah on Saturday in Grantham, PA.
The Spartans got a game-high 29 points from Kai Cipalla as they seized control of the game in the first half and never really let the Falcons get into the game.
York improves to 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the league while the Falcons fall to 4-11 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a good start as they raced out to a 7-3 lead 2:18 into the game. The Falcons got a Dylan Cuperus lay-up to make the score 14-11 but York then ripped off a nine-point run to take a 23-11 lead with 10:15 left in the first. The Spartan offense then went cold as they went 5:55 without a basket. Fortunately, York held the Falcons to just seven points during the drought as they still maintained a 23-18 lead. York out-scored Messiah 12-10 over the final 4:32 of the half as they took a 31-23 lead to the break.
• The start of the second half saw the teams go back and forth as they traded baskets over the opening five minutes of the half. The Spartans led 40-31 but the Falcons ripped off six straight points over the next minute to slice the Spartan lead to three (40-37). The Spartans then fashioned a lengthy 14-4 run covering 4:48 of game time. The Spartans went 4-for-5 from the floor including one three and a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line. York held Messiah to just 1-of-5 shooting from the floor during the spurt.
• The Falcons answered with a 7-0 spurt to cut the York lead to just six. The Spartans responded with an 8-2 run that pushed their lead to 12 (62-50) with 4:23 left. Kai Cipalla led the way with six points on the spurt. Cipalla would be sure the Spartans closed out the game as he scored seven points over the final four minutes as York snapped their three-game slide.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 44.6% from the floor including 4-for-25 (16%) from three … York was solid at the line, converting 18-of-25 (72%) for the game … Messiah shot 44.7% from the floor but took nine less shots than did the Spartans … Messiah was just 2-for-8 (25%) from distance and made 14-of-21 from the stripe … York handled the Falcons on the boards, 38-22 including 13 offensive rebounds for York … the Spartans had a 12-5 margin in second chance points … York had a 40-34 in paint points … Messiah had 16 turnovers which the Spartans turned into 20 points … both team had three blocks and both teams got 12 points from their reserves … the Spartans' largest lead was 15 (67-52) and came with 2:15 left in the game … York never trailed in the game as they had the lead for 39:36 of play.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have won two straight against the Falcons and now lead the all-time series 13-11 … York won the rebounding battle by 16 in the game, tying their second-largest margin of the year (17 vs. SUNY Caton on November 10) … York is now 8-2 when out-rebounding its opponent … the 14-point lead is the Spartans' third largest margin of victory for the year … the Falcons had just two three pointers on eight attempts, both marks were a season-low for a Spartan opponent … York is now 4-2 away from Wolf Gymnasium … Kai Cipalla led the way for York as he poured in 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field including 1-for-2 from the line and 8-for-9 from the stripe … Cipalla also had five rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist … the 29 points marks the seventh time this year that he has recorded 20 points or more in a game … the 29 points are Cipalla's second highest total of the year and is five points short of his career high of 33 set in the game against Gettysburg … Jackson Mascari was the other Spartan in double figures with 15 points while he also had seven rebounds … Mascari was a very efficient 6-for-9 from the floor, 1-for-1 from three and 2-for-2 from the line … he also had five assists in the Spartan victory …  Jayden Rowe added seven points, five rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot … Chris Miers also had seven points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in another solid performance for York … Aleks Smith recorded a career-high five points in his seven minutes of action in the win.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Reading, PA to take on the Albright College Lions. Tip time is set for 7:00 pm at Bollman Center.

Audio Highlights courtesy of Darrell Henry, the Voice of the Spartans