YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team put together another strong defensive effort as they downed Stevenson University 73-55 in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Wednesday night in York.
The Spartans held the Mustangs to 37.3% shooting from the floor including 1-for-10 from three in the win.
York improves to 15-5 overall including 8-1 in the league while the Mustangs fall to 8-12 overall and 2-7 in the conference. The Spartans now sit all alone in first place after Hood dropped a nine-point decision at home against Albright earlier Wednesday evening.
 
How It Happened
• The game got off to a slow offensive start as both teams struggled to find the range. The Spartans led 9-8 with 13:14 left in the opening half. The Spartans ripped off a 10-3 run over the next 3:35 to push out to a 19-11 run. The run was highlighted by a big Jayden Rowe dunk in traffic.
• The Mustangs scored 16 of the next 26 points of the game to slice the Spartan lead to two at 29-27 with just 1:02 remaining in the half. The Spartans got a lay-up from Chris Miers and a three pointer from Tate Landis to take a 34-27 lead to the break.
• The Spartans built on the late first half run as they ripped off seven points to start the second half as the lead grew to 41-27 after the 12-0 run. The Mustangs cut the lead to 11 on a Ronald Ayers jumper with 12:29 left in the game but Landis hit another three followed by a pair of Kai Cipalla free throws to push the lead to 16 midway through the half. The Mustangs went on an 11-5 run to make one final run at the Green and White. Ben Troyer halted the Mustang gallop with a lay-up and the Spartan lead did not fall below 12 the rest of the game. Landis hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions with just over three minutes left to push the lead to a game-high 20 points.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 50% (28-for-56) from the floor including 40.7% (11-for-27) from three … the Spartans made just ten trips to the free throw line, making six … Stevenson finished the game shooting 37.7% (20-for-53) from the field while they were just 1-for-10 (10%) from downtown … Stevenson went 14-for-21 (66.7%) from the charity stripe … Stevenson held a very slight 34-33 edge in rebounding including a 10-7 margin in offensive rebounds … York had an 18-6 bulge in total assists while Stevenson had 12 turnovers to 11 for York … the Spartans turned Stevenson's 12 turnovers into 19 points while York's 11 miscues cost them only eight points … Stevenson had a 10-7 edge in steals … York had a 34-32 margin in paint points … York never trailed in the game and led for 37:19 (93.3%) of the game … Mason Jones led the Mustangs with 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals for Stevenson … Cameron Smith, who entered the game 16 points short of becoming the 11^th member of the Stevenson's 1,000 career point club, finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 30 minutes of work … Ronald Ayers added nine points, six rebounds, and two steals.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 20-7 all-time against Stevenson as York has won three straight in the series … York is now 7-1 at home … the Spartans shot over 50% for the fourth straight game while they held the Mustangs to 37.7% shooting … the Spartan defense has now held nine teams below 42% shooting for a game … York drilled 11 threes in the game including nine in the second half as the Spartans were 9-for-17 in the second 20 minutes of play … York had an assist on 12 of their 14 second half field goals … the Spartans recorded their tenth double digit win of the year … York has attempted just 22 free throws in their last two games … York now has 10 games with 15 assists or more … senior Jackson Mascari led the way for the Spartans as he poured in a game-high 17 points including 13 points in the second half … Mascari had six rebounds and one steal as he was 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-8 from three … Tate Landis added 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot … Landis was 5-for-8 from three in his 32 minutes of work … Kai Cipalla contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one blocked shot … Cipalla was 5-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-4 at the stripe … Jayden Rowe was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 12 points while he also had six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot … Rowe was 5-for-10 from the floor including one three and 1-for-2 from the stripe.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home on Saturday afternoon as a part of the MAC Commonwealth doubleheader when they host Alvernia University. Tip time on Saturday is set for 3:00 pm at Wolf Gymnasium.
 
Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry, the Voice of the Spartans