YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team edged Eastern University 78-73 in a highly competitive MAC Commonwealth contest on Saturday in York.
The Spartans put together a 9-0 run late in the second half to give themselves enough of lead to outlast the Eagles. Senior Jackson Mascari notched a career-high 23 points in the win.
York improves to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Commonwealth while the Eagles are now 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• Neither offense was able to gain any traction early as the two defenses were stellar. The Spartans led 10-4 six minutes into the game and increased that lead to 15-7 on a Jackson Mascari three with 11:24 left in the first. The Eagles ripped off a 13-5 run to tie the game with exactly five minutes left in the half. Olise Onyika led the way for the Eagles with five points on the spurt.
• York quickly scored five straight points to take a 25-20 lead but the Eagles fashioned a 10-3 run of their own to take a 30-28 lead with 49 seconds left in the half. Mascari gave York a halftime lead as he banked home a three from the wing at the buzzer to give the Spartans a 31-30 lead at the break.
• The Spartans shot a paltry 32.4% from the floor and 26.3% from three in the first half. Eastern shot 48.1% from the floor but attempted ten less shots as they had 12 first-half turnovers to just six for York.
• The second half scoring pace stepped up with the teams going back-and-forth like a championship boxing match. There were four ties and five lead changes in the second 20 minutes of play. Eastern hit York with a 9-2 run midway through the second half to take a 54-48 lead as the Eagles were on the cusp of taking control of the game. The six-point margin was their largest lead of the game. York got a huge three from junior Pat Gilhool and a bucket from Kai Cipalla to cut the Eastern lead to one at 54-53. After a Zubair Lee lay-up, Tate Landis hit a big three to tie the game. Lee hit a pair of free throws before Landis and Mascari drilled back-to-back threes as York took a 62-58 lead.
• Lee converted a traditional three-point play to cut York's advantage to one but the Spartans seized control of the game with both hands as they ripped off a 9-0 run that gave them a 71-61 lead with 1:49 left in the game. The Eagles cut the lead to five with 1:26 left but Chris Miers hit his second three in three minutes to push the lead back to eight with 1:06 left. The Spartans made enough free throws down the stretch to post the five-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 41.2% (26-for-68) from the floor and 35.1% (13-for-37) from three … York did just enough at the free throw line as they converted 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the stripe … the Eagles shot 54.9% (28-for-51) from the floor including 6-for-16 (37.5%) from three and 11-for-18 (61.1%) from the line … York attempted 17 more shots in the game as the Eagles had 20 turnovers to just nine for York … those 20 turnovers led to 22 points for York … the Eagles won the battle on the glass 38-24 but York had a 14-7 advantage in offensive rebounds which led to 15 second-chance points for the hosts … Eastern held a 38-30 margin in paint points … the Eastern bench had a big day with 29 points … there were six ties and nine lead changes in the game … the Eagles 54.9% shooting was their best shooting night of the year … York's 13 three-point field goals are the most allowed by Eastern this year … Zubair Lee led the way for the Eagles with 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal … Olise Onyeka added 11 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots in his 34 minutes of work … Davin Hernandez came off the bench to reach double figures with 10 points including a pair of three pointers.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have won two straight in the series as both teams have five wins all-time in the series … the 2-0 conference start is the first since the Spartans started 9-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference in the 2017-2018 season … the Spartans have shot 41.3% (57-for-138) in their last two games however they have attempted 37 more shots their two opponents … the Eagles finished the game shooting 54.9%, the second highest percentage against the Spartans this year (55.9% vs. Hamilton) … York connected on a season-high 13 three-point field goals in the win and have made 59 threes in their last six games while their opponents have made just 40 over the same stretch … York had 20 assists on their 28 field goals while they only had nine turnovers, their best ratio of the year … York's 14 steals were their highest total of the season and was just the third time they have reached double figures this year … senior Jackson Mascari set a new career-high with 23 points while he also had eight rebounds, five assists and a steal in his 36 minutes of action … Mascari made a career-high six threes as he was 8-for-15 from the floor overall … senior Kai Cipalla added 17 points, five rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot in the victory … Tate Landis set a season-high with 16 points while he also had five rebounds, four assists and five steals in one of his most complete games of the season … grad guard Chris Miers added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in his 30 minutes of work.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday night as they head to Owings Mills, Maryland to face off against Stevenson University. Tip time is set for 7:00 pm.

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