ST. DAVID'S, PA – The York College men's basketball team continued to roll on the road as the Spartans earned a 79-69 win at Eastern University in MAC Commonwealth play on Saturday. The loss is Eastern's seventh straight as they have not won since before the Spartans beat them in the first round of Commonwealth play back on January 11.
The win was the Spartans' first in the Eagles' Nest Gymnasium as the Spartans had dropped four straight in St. David's, PA.
The Spartans are now 14-5 overall and 7-1 in the league. The Eagles are now 8-11 overall and 1-7 in the league. York will head into Wednesday with at least a share of first place as Hood was scheduled to play later on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Spartans could not have gotten off to a better start as they began the game with 14-2 spurt over the first 5:07 of the game. Senior Jackson Mascari powered the run with eight points including a pair of three pointers. The Spartans hit six of their first seven shots including a pair of triples to jump out to the early lead.
• The Eagles answered by scoring eight of the next 12 points, slicing the Spartan lead to 18-10 with 10:16 left in the half. Ben Troyer drilled a three to push the lead back to 11. The York lead vacillated between nine and 13 points until the Eagles hit back-to-back threes to trim the Spartan lead to 30-24 with just over three minutes left in the stanza.  Mascari halted the run as the Spartan senior ripped off five straight points, pushing the York lead back to 11. The Spartans ended up taking a 12-point halftime lead after a very efficient first half.
• York shot 51.7% (15-for-29) from the floor in the first half while their defense was outstanding in holding the Eagles to just 9-of-29 (31%) shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Mascari poured in 18 first-half points to lead the way for the Green and White. 
• The Eagles came roaring out of the half as they began the second stanza on an 8-2 run, cutting the York lead to 39-33 just 2:10 into the period. The Spartans responded like the veteran team they are, smacking Eastern with a 15-5 run to push the lead to 54-38 with 13 minutes left in the game. Jayden Rowe and Kai Cipalla each had four points on the run while they both had fast break dunks during the spurt.
• After Eastern's Josh Harris converted a traditional three-point play at the 11:51 mark, the Spartans put a big dagger into the Eagles with a 9-2 run that put York up 65-45 with 8:59 left in the game. Chris Miers had two free throws and a wide open three on the run.  
• The Eagles cut the Spartan lead to 14 on a 10-4 run highlighted by eight points from Connor Fleet as York led 71-57 with 3:36 left in the game. The Eagles eventually sliced the final score to ten as they scored 10 of the final 12 points of the game but those points were purely cosmetic as the Spartans had firm control of the game.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Spartans were fantastic from the floor as they shot 60% (33-for-55) including 5-for-15 (33.3%) from thee while they were an effective 8-for-12 (66.7%) from the stripe … the Spartans harassed Eastern into just 40.7% (24-for-59) shooting from the field including 6-for-19 (31.6%) from distance … the Eagles were 15-for-16 (93.8%) from the charity stripe … Eastern held a 31-28 margin on the glass … York led for 97.9% (39:10) of the game as they never trailed … York's largest lead was 20 at 67-47 with 6:01 left in the game … York had a 16-8 bulge in assists as they continue to do a fantastic job of sharing the basketball … York forced Eastern into 13 turnovers which York turned into 16 points while York's 12 miscues only cost them six points … York had a big 56-32 bulge in paint points … Eastern came into the game as the best shot blocking team in the Commonwealth but had just one in the game while the Spartans were credited with zero swats … Connor Fleet led the way for the Eagles with a career-high 21 points as 16 of points came in the final five minutes of the game after York had pushed out to their big lead … Fleet was the lone Eagle in double figures as he was 5-for-12 from the floor including 4-for-8 from three and 7-for-7 from the line … DaRon Sherman and Olise Onyeka each added eight points while Sherman also had six rebounds.
 
SPARTAN NOTES
The Spartans are now 6-5 all-time against Eastern as York has won three straight in the series … York is now 7-3 on the road for the campaign … the Spartans have won seven of their last eight and ten of their last 12 … York's 60% shooting from the floor was a season high as the Spartans are shooting 53.2% (90-for-169) from the floor in their last three games … York has assisted on 50 of those 90 made field goals in the last three contests … York has shot 50% or better in seven games this year as they are 6-1 in those games … conversely, the Spartans have held eight opponents to below 42% shooting in a game including their last two games, wins over Widener and Eastern … York was out-rebounded in the game for just the first time in their last six games … for the tenth time this year, the Spartans had 12 turnovers or less in a game … York's ten steals marks the fifth time this year they have reached double figures in thefts … the Spartans were led by seniors Kai Cipalla, Jackson Mascari and Chris Miers as they were a three-headed monster for the Green and White … Cipalla had 22 points, including 18 in the second half, to lead the way … Cipalla was 10-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line … he added four rebounds for the Spartans … Mascari carried the Spartans in the first half as he tallied 18 of his 20 points in the opening stanza … Mascari was 8-for-13 from the floor including 2-for-4 from three and 2-for-3 from the line … he added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 35 minutes of action … Miers contributed a very efficient 17 points as he was 7-for-9 from the floor including 1-for-2 from three and 2-for-2 from the line … Miers added four rebounds, three assists and a steal … Jayden Rowe contributed eight points and a team-leading eight rebounds while he also had three assists and one steal in 27 minutes … Tate Landis chipped in with four assists, four rebounds and four steals for York.
 
UP NEXT
The game against Eastern concludes the Spartans' challenging three game road swing as they went 2-1. York returns home on Wednesday evening as they host Stevenson University in a MAC Commonwealth contest. Tip time at Wolf Gym is set for 7:00 pm. The Spartans play four of their final six games at Wolf Gym where they own a mark of 6-1 for the campaign.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans
Full Halftime Interview with senior Kai Cipalla