HOBOKEN, NJ – The York College men's basketball team raced out to a early lead and then held on late as they downed Oswego State 78-71 in the opening round of the Stevens Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament on Friday night in Hoboken, N.J.
The Spartans had a 20-point first half lead before the Lakers shaved down that lead to as low as five late in the second half. The Spartans were able to make some clutch free throws late to earn the tournament semifinal win.
The Spartans have won three straight and six of their last seven as they improve to 7-3 overall. The Lakers had their four-game win streak snapped as they fall to 6-2.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fantastic start as they started the contest on an 11-2 run. The run started with strong defense as they forced four Laker turnovers during that opening stretch while Kai Cipalla led the way with six points on the run. Oswego cut the Spartan lead to eight at 14-6 but the Spartans scored the next eight in a row as Jayden Rowe hit a lay-up and a three while Ben Troyer added a triple of his own as York's lead grew to 22-6.
• The Spartan lead increased to 18 (26-8) on a Troyer lay-up with 9:49 left in the first half. The Spartans pushed the lead to 20 on a great back door dunk from Chris Miers, giving the Green and White a 33-13 lead with six minutes left in the half. The Spartans then went cold from the floor over the next four minutes as the Lakers smacked the Spartans with a 12-1 run, slicing the Spartan lead to just nine at 34-25. The Green and White rallied to finish the half as Rowe was fouled on a three-point attempt. Rowe made the first two and then Jackson Mascari finished off the half with an offensive rebound an put back as the Spartans led 38-25 at the break.
• The Lakers began the half with a pair of free throws but then the Spartans went on an 11-4 run thanks to eight points from Rowe as the Green and White led 49-31 just 5:24 into the second half.
• After the Spartan lead vacillated between 14 and 18 points over the next ten minutes, the Lakers hit the Spartans with an 8-0 run as Billy Reyes hit back-to-back deep threes to cut the Spartan lead to seven with 7:19 left in the game. Reyes started to get hot in the second half as he scored 14 points in the first 13 minutes of the second half.
• The Lakers kept coming at the Spartans as they fashioned a 13-4 run to cut the Spartan lead to six at 63-58 with 5:31 left. York scored 11 of the next 18 points of the game as the lead was ten at 75-65 with 1:36 remaining. The Lakers scored five quick points on a three followed by a steal and a lay-up as the York lead was down to five with 1:12 remaining. Rowe split a pair of free throws followed by a Spartan stop as Tate Landis was fouled with 18 ticks left. Landis drained both free throws to push the lead back to eight. The Lakers split a pair of free throws to provide for the final seven-point Spartan margin of victory.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans shot 44.6% (25-for-56) from the floor for the game including 10-for-26 (38.5%) from three … York was 18-for-26 (69.2%) from the free throw line while Oswego was 8-for-12 (66.7%) … the Lakers shot 44.3% (27-for-61) from the floor while they shot 40.9% (9-for-22) from downtown … the Spartans held a 37-30 edge in rebounds including a 10-6 margin in offensive rebounds … York had an 11-3 margin in second chance points … York outscored Oswego 30-28 in paint points … York committed 16 turnovers which cost them 18 points while the Lakers had 14 miscues that resulted in 14 Spartan points … both teams had 12 assists in the game … Billy Reyes came off the bench to lead the Lakers with 19 points including 5-of-8 from three … Deacon Judd had 16 points and six rebounds for Oswego while Cole Kattan added 11 points for the Lakers.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting was the first between the two programs … the Spartans are looking to win their third in-season tournament title in the last three years … York won the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament to open last season and they captured the title of the Steel Club Classic hosted by Moravian during the 2022-23 season …  the Spartans allowed Oswego to shoot 44.3% from the floor, the second highest by a Spartan opponent this year (45.5% at Arcadia) … the Spartans made double figures in threes for the third straight game and the sixth time this year … the Spartans were a very efficient 15-for-19 from the stripe in the second half after shooting 3-of-7 in the opening 20 minutes of play … York never trailed in the game as they led wire-to-wire … York won the battle of the glass for just the third time this year as the seven rebound margin was their highest positive difference of the year … Jayden Rowe and Kai Cipalla combined to score 50 of the Spartans' 78 points … Rowe set a new season-high with 28 points as he was 9-for-13 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from three and 5-for-9 from the line … Rowe also had six rebounds and two steals … Cipalla notched 22 points, pulled in eight rebounds, and tied a career high with six assists … Cipalla was 7-for-15 from the floor including 3-of-7 from three and 5-for-5 from the free throw line … Cipalla has scored 20 or more points in four straight games and seven times in ten games this year … Tate Landis added seven points, five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot while Jackson Mascari added six points, five rebounds, and four assists … the Lakers boast and impressive three-year run as they are now 87-11 dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season … the Lakers are 54-2 in SUNYAC play in the same period of time.
 
Up Next
The Spartans advance to the tournament championship game where they will face Hamilton College at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon in Hoboken, N.J. Hamilton enters Saturday's championship game with a record of 10-1 as they have won nine straight after Friday's 72-61 win over tournament host Stevens in the tournament's other semifinal.
 
Audio Highlights courtesy Darrell Henry, the Voice of the Spartans