YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team outlasted a feisty Alvernia University squad 70-65 in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Saturday in York.
The Spartans trailed at the half but outscored the Golden Wolves 38-30 in the second half to pull away for the gritty win.
The Spartans improve to 16-5 overall and 9-1 in the Commonwealth as they own a one-game lead heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The Golden Wolves fall to 13-8 overall and are now 5-5 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a quick start as Tate Landis buried a back-to-back threes to give York an early 6-0 lead. The Golden Wolves scored eight of the next ten points to tie the game at eight with 15:05 left in the half. There would be two more ties over the next four minutes before the Spartans scored the next five points to push out to a 19-14 advantage. The Golden Wolves hit York with a 10-3 run to take a 24-22 lead with 6:44 showing on the clock.
• Chris Miers tied the game at 24 on a jumper as York went on an 8-3 run to give York a 30-27 lead with 3:38 left in the half. The Spartans then went cold from the field as Alvernia ended the half on an 8-2 run to take a 35-32 lead to the intermission.
• Jayden Rowe got York off to a great start in the second half as he spearheaded a 9-2 run to start the period. Rowe drilled a pair of threes in the opening run, giving York some momentum. The Golden Wolves battled back to take a 46-44 lead on an Elijah Hamilton jumper as the teams started to really go back-and-forth. York answered with a quick 7-0 spurt started with a Landis triple as it was York's turn with momentum.
• The Golden Wolves grabbed their final lead of the game on a Jacob Stoudt three with 6:26 left in regulation. Alvernia tied the game one last time on a Robert Mullan lay up with 2:33 left. After Miers put York back on top, Mullan split a pair, tying the game at 63 with 2:03 remaining. • The Spartans took the lead for good on a Jackson Mascari offensive rebound and put back after Rowe made a fantastic defensive play, picking Mullan's pocket to create the offensive opportunity. The Golden Wolves had three shots on their ensuing possession but eventually turned the ball over, giving the Spartans the ball with 51 seconds left. Nick Schroeder split his free throws to put York up three. The Spartans then fouled Robert Cottrell who split his free throws to leave York's lead at two with 34 ticks left.
• Alvernia eventually fouled but Miers sunk a pair of freebies to put York up four. Hamilton split a pair of his own free throws but Miers was fouled again and calmly drilled both attempts to put York up five with 12 seconds left. York got a stop on Alvernia's final possession to earn the hard-fought win.
  
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 37% (20-for-54) from the floor including 24% (6-for-25) from three … the Spartans righted the ship late at the free throw line as they finished the game shooting 24-for-36 (66.7%) from the stripe … Alvernia shot 46.8% (22-for-47) from the field including 42.9% (6-for-14) from downtown … the Golden Wolves shot 57.7% (15-for-26) from the stripe in the contest … York had a strong showing on the glass as they finished the game with a 39-32 edge on the back boards including 13-5 in offensive rebounds … York had a 14-4 bulge in second chance points … both teams had four steals … York had a 22-18 margin in paint points … Alvernia had six blocked shots to just one for York … both teams took care of the ball as York had just seven turnovers while Alvernia had nine … the Spartans led for 62.9% (25:09) of the game as their largest lead was six (56-50) while Alvernia's largest advantage was five (35-30) … there were 13 total ties and and 10 lead changes … Elijiah Hamilton led the way for Alvernia as he notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds … Hamilton was 4-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the line … Jakob Kelly added 14 points, four rebounds, a steal, a block and an assist in 38 minutes of action … Kelly was 6-for-13 from the floor including 2-for-5 from three and 0-for-1 from the stripe … Robert Mullan chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and one assist.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans swept the regular season series and are now 8-13 all-time against the Golden Wolves … the Spartans have now won four straight and nine of their last ten … York attempted more field goals in a game for the sixth time in their ten conference games … York has reached at least 70 points in nine of their 10 conference games and in 15 games for the year … the Spartans are now 8-1 at home for the year including seven straight victories at Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans put four players in double figures led by grad guard Chris Miers as he poured in 19 points as he was a clutch 10-for-11 from the line including seven attempts in the final eight minutes of the game … Miers added four rebounds, one assist and a pair of steals … Kai Cipalla registered another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds … the double-double is his fourth of the season and 13^th of his storied Spartan career … Cipalla was 6-for-12 from the floor including four made free throws … Tate Landis added 12 points, three rebounds and one assist including 3-for-6 from three … Jackson Mascari added 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists in his 38 minutes of action … Jayden Rowe added eight points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist in just 18 minutes of action as he battled foul trouble all afternoon.
 
Up Next
The Spartans have another big MAC Commonwealth game on the docket as the York heads to Reading to face Albright College on Wednesday night. The Lions are currently one game back of the Spartans as they sit all alone in second place, one game in front of Hood College as the Blazers are in third. Tip time in Reading is set for 7:00 pm.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans