YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team dropped a 68-61 decision to Albright College in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Wednesday night in York.
The Spartans got another big performance from Kai Cipalla but he was the lone Spartan in double figures for the evening.
The Spartans fall to 13-9 overall and 6-5 in the Commonwealth. The Lions improve to 10-12 overall and 3-8 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The scoring pace was slow early as both defenses did a good job of forcing tough shots. York led 8-3 just over four minutes into the game as Kai Cipalla scored six of the Spartans' first eight points. With the Spartans holding a 13-10 lead, Jackson Mascari hit a three pointer to start a 7-1 run that gave York a 20-11 lead.
• After the Lions scored five straight to slice the lead to four, the Spartans ripped off a 13-2 run to take a 33-18 lead with 4:03 remaining in the first half. The Lions closed out the half with a 9-0 run, trimming the Spartans' halftime lead to 33-27. York went 0-for-5 from the field over the final four minutes of the half as they let the Lions back into the game.
• The Lions continued the run after the half as they scored the first seven points of the stanza to take a 34-33 lead. The Lions overall run was 16-0 as York went scoreless for 6:57 of game play as their lead evaporated. York got a pair of free throws from Cipalla and Mascari to take a 37-34 lead. Chris Kouemi hit back to back buckets to put the Lions back up 38-37.
• The Spartans scored 16 of the next 23 points to give the Green and White a 53-45 lead with 9:15 left. The Lions responded with an 18-7 run of their own as they surged to a 63-60 lead with just over two minutes left in the game. After Tate Landis split a pair of free throws with 1:58 left, the Spartans would not score the rest of the way as the Lions scored the final five points of the game to secure the road win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 38% from the floor including 23.8% (5-for-21) from three … York was 18-for-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line … The Lions shot 44.6% from the field including 5-for-13 (38.5%) from three and 54.2% (13-for-24) from the free throw line … York had a 37-33 edge on the glass but Albright had a 10-9 edge in second chance points … York had 15 turnovers which led to 16 Albright points … Albright had a 34-28 edge in paint points … Albright held a 10-0 edge in fast break points … there were two ties and five lead changes during the game … Albright had a lead for just 3:36 of the game, which converts to 9% of the game … York's largest lead was 15 (33-18) while the Lions' largest margin was the final score of seven points.
 
Spartan Notes
The loss snaps a four-game win streak against Albright as the Spartans still lead the all-time series 9-3 … York is now 7-6 at home … the Spartans tied a season-low with just 19 made field goals in the game … York had just six assists in the game, their lowest total of the year as it was just the third time this year they had less than double figures in assists … York had just one steal and forced just seven Albright turnovers … Albright had 11 steals, the second highest total against the Spartans this year … junior forward Kai Cipalla had another big night as he poured in 26 points and grabbed ten rebounds for the double-double … Cipalla was 7-for-10 from the floor and 12-for-13 from the free throw line … the double-double is his seventh of the year and eighth of his career … Jackson Mascari added seven points and six rebounds while Chris Miers contributed eight points, three rebounds and two assists … Shawn Barclay had seven points and two rebounds in his nine minutes of action.
 
Up Next
The Spartans conclude their regular season home slate on Saturday as they host Messiah University in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time is set for 3:00 pm at Wolf Gymnasium. The Spartans will honor their three seniors prior to the contest.