BALTIMORE, MD – The York College men's basketball team kicked off their five-game road swing with a 70-56 setback at Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday night in Baltimore.
The Blue Jays used a 19-2 run late in regulation to turn a two-point York advantage into a 15-point deficit. York scored just nine points over the final nine minutes of the game.
The Blue Jays improve to 2-0 overall while York falls to 1-1.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans could not have gotten off to a worse start as they were 0-for-11 from the floor to start the game. The Blue Jays took advantage of that slow start with an 11-1 lead just four minutes into the game. Hopkins led by 15-3 when the Spartans put together an 11-6 run to cut the Hopkins lead to seven at 21-14 with 7:42 left in the first half. The Blue Jays scored the next three points but the Spartans got three straight lay ups to cut their deficit to four at 24-20 with just 3:34 left in the stanza. Kai Cipalla hit jumper with 1:06 left but the Blue Jays ended the half on a 4-0 spurt to take a 32-24 lead at the intermission.
• All things considered, the eight-point halftime deficit wasn't too bad as York shot just 31% (10-for-32) from the floor and a chilly 1-for-15 from distance (6.7%) in the opening half. The Blue Jays also handled York on the glass 23-14 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
• The Spartans started chipping away as they opened the second half with a 13-5 run to tie the game at 37 just under four minutes into the stanza. Cipalla led the Green and White on the run with eight points while Jackson Mascari had five.
• Hopkins scored five straight points to push out to a 42-37 lead. The Spartans responded with a 10-3 run covering 3:31 to take a 47-45 lead. The Blue Jays changed the game with a 22-4 run kick started by a John Windley three with 10:55 left in the game. That run turned a two-point Spartan lead into a 15-point Blue Jay lead with 1:48 left in the game. York scored just 11 points over the final 10:47 of the game as Hopkins pulled away for the victory. Windley scored 13 points during the game clinching run for the Blue Jays.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 35% (21-for-60) from the floor while they were just 3-for-25 (12%) from three … the Spartans went 11-for-19 (57.9%) from the stripe … Hopkins shot 43.5% (20-for-46) from the floor, 43.8% (7-for-16) from three while they were great from the line, converting 23-of-27 (85.2%) … the Blue Jays had a 43-29 bulge on the glass while both teams had 10 offensive rebounds … Hopkins had a 10-8 advantage in assists … Hopkins committed 17 turnovers which York was able to turn into 15 points … the Spartans had just seven turnovers in the game … York had eight steals while Hopkins had just three … York blocked six shots while the Blue Jays had three … the Spartans were whistled for 25 fouls while the Blue Jays had 18 infractions … York had a 32-26 edge in points in the paint while the Blue Jays had a 19-8 margin in fast break points.
 
Spartan Notes
The all-time series with the Blue Jays is now tied at six wins each but the Blue Jays have won five straight in the series … senior Kai Cipalla led the way for the Spartans as he put up a team-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, three blocked shots and a career-high four steals … Cipalla was 8-for-18 from the floor, 0-for-5 from three and 4-7 at the free throw line … Jackson Mascari added 14 points and four rebounds as he was limited to 29 minutes by foul trouble in the contest … Chris Miers made his season debut with nine points, three rebounds, and a steal in his 26 minutes of action … Jayden Rowe also scored nine points for York in addition to three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot … York has been handled on the glass in two games as they have been out-rebounded 87-56 in two games … the Spartans have done a good job of taking care of the ball as they have just 20 turnovers in two games … the Green and White have also blocked 15 shots in two games.
 
Up Next
The Spartans stay in the Centennial Conference on Saturday as they travel west on Route 30 to face the Gettysburg College Bullets in a 3:00 pm non-league game. The Bullets edged the Spartans 88-87 in double overtime at Wolf Gymnasium last November 18 in a thriller. The Bullets are picked to win the Centennial Conference in the league's preseason poll and are 3-0 heading into Saturday's game.