READING, PA – The York College men's basketball team used a stout defensive effort to down Albright College 65-53 in MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday night in Reading.
The Spartans limited the Lions to 25% shooting from the floor while they also forced 16 turnovers in the win.
The Spartans improve to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the league while the Lions are also 9-7 and 2-3 in the Commonwealth.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a great start as they led the Lions 11-2, 6:37 into the game. York harassed Albright into a 1-for-8 start from the field while they also forced six turnovers. Kai Cipalla led the way on the run with six points. The Lions answered the Spartans back with a 10-4 run of their own, slicing York's lead to three at 15-12.
• The Green and White put together a sustained 14-5 run that covered the next 4:38 of play. York was 5-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the line during the spurt. Albright was 0-for-5 from the floor as they got all five of their points at the line. Albright finished the half with a 7-1 push that cut the Spartan lead to six at the break (30-24).
• The Lions got an Eric Chamberlain lay-up to open the second half but York put together another 14-5 run to push their lead to 13 at 44-31 with 13:13 left in regulation. Jayden Rowe powered the run with eight points. Albright got back to within seven with a 9-3 run but a Nick Schroeder three put York back up ten at 50-40. Schroeder's triple started a 9-4 push that increased the led to 12. Schroeder had five points on the run while Cipalla added four.
• The Spartan lead would not fall below ten the rest of the way as they earned their second straight double-digit road victory.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 44.9% (22-for-49) from the floor while they were a chilly 4-for-17 (23.5%) from downtown … the Spartans converted 17-of-25 (68%) from the free throw line … York limited Albright to just 25% (15-for-60) shooting from the field while they were just 3-for-21 (14.3%) from three and 20-for-27 (74.1%) from the stripe … York held a slight 39-38 edge on the glass but Albright did manage 16 offensive rebounds while York had 33 defensive rebounds … Albright had a 13-3 bulge in second chance points … York had 19 turnovers while the Lions had 16 but York had a 14-11 edge in points off turnovers … the Spartans held a 34-24 edge in paint points … York had seven blocked shots in the win … York never trailed as they lead for 97.7% (39:04) of the game.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans improve to 9-2 all-time against the Lions as they have won four straight … York is 4-1 against the Lions as MAC Commonwealth opponents … York has won two straight on the road and are now 5-2 away from Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans have not trailed in their last two games as they have led for 78:40 of 80 minutes of play combined in the two games … the Lions were held to 25% shooting, the lowest opponent shooting percentage since the Spartans held Wilson College to 24.6% (16-for-65) on January 21, 2020, a span of 75 games … the Spartans are 8-for-42 from three in their last two games while they have held Messiah and Albright to a combined 5-for-29 from deep … York won the rebounding battle for the 11^th time this year as they are now 9-2 when out-rebounding their opponent … the Spartans had a season-high 19 turnovers in the win … York had seven blocked shots, tying their second-highest total of the year… Kai Cipalla and Jayden Rowe had big nights to lead York … Cipalla had 23 points, nine rebounds, one assist and three blocked shots in 34 minutes of action … Cipalla was 7-for-14 from the floor and 9-for-12 at the line … Rowe tallied 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, had two blocked shots and one steal in his 33 minutes of action .. Shawn Barclay tied his career-high with seven rebounds while he also had five points, a career high three steals and a blocked shot … Nick Schroeder tallied a season-high eight points off the bench while he also had two rebounds, an assist and a steal … Tate Landis had a season-high five steals in the victory.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home for a three-game home stand starting on Saturday against Commonwealth front-runner Hood College. The Blazers enter the game ranked 21^st in the nation as they are 13-2 overall and 5-0 in the league. The game is set for a 3:00 pm tip time at Charles Wolf Gymnasium.

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