YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team capture the fifth conference title in school history as they defeated Alvernia University 82-67 in the 2025 MAC Commonwealth title game on Saturday afternoon in York.
The championship is the first Commonwealth title in school history as the Spartans became members of the league in 2020-21. York's previous four league titles came in the old Capital Athletic Conference. Senior Kai Cipalla was named the tournament MVP.
The Spartans advance to the NCAA Tournament with a record of 21-6 while the Golden Wolves see their season come-to-a-close with a mark of 16-11.
 
How It Happened
• The Golden Wolves broke out to a very early 6-3 lead only to see the Spartans hit lay-ups on three straight possessions to take a 9-6 lead. Those lay-ups were the start of a 15-4 run as York pushed out to an 18-10 lead with 11:49 left in the half. Alvernia trimmed the York lead to two at 22-20 on a Naji Hamilton lay-up with 8:04 left.
• York fashioned a 13-5 run, pushing their lead to 10 at 35-25. Jackson Mascari led the run with five points. Alvernia sliced the lead back down to six before Kai Cipalla hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the half, giving York a 40-32 lead.
• The Spartans came out of the intermission a team possessed, as York scored eight points in their first three possessions to take a 48-32 lead. York kept the lead at a minimum of 15 and grew it to 20 for the first time on a Pat Gilhool three with 14:14 left in the game. York pushed the lead to a game-high 23 (71-48) points on a Tate Landis triple with 7:42 left in the game. York's lowest lead the rest of the game came at the end of the contest while Alvernia scored the final four points of the contest for the 15-point Spartan win.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans finished the game shooting 52.6% (30-for-57) from the floor and 43.5% (10-for-23) from three … the Spartans were a very efficient 12-for-15 (80%) from the stripe … Alvernia finished the game shooting 48.1% (25-for-52) from the field including 50% (5-for-10) from three and 12-for-19 (63.2%) from the free throw line … York held a 32-29 edge on the glass while both teams had seven offensive rebounds … York had an 18-5 edge in total assists … Alvernia had 12 turnovers which York turned into 20 points while the Spartans' eight miscues cost them 12 points … York had a 7-5 edge in steals … both teams had 38 point points … York had a 9-4 margin in fast break points … York led for 92.3% (36:55) of the game … Elijah Hamilton led the Golden Wolves with 16 points and four rebounds … Hamilton was 7-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 at the line … Jakob Kelly added 12 points and eight rebounds while he also had two assists and two steals … Kelly was 4-for-9 from the floor including 2-for-4 from three and 2-for-2 from the line … Robert Cottrell also had 12 points for Alvernia … Janye Stanley chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of play.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans won all three games against the Golden Wolves this season … the Spartans had entered the season on an 11-game losing streak against Alvernia … they snapped that streak with the sweep of the season as York is now 9-13 all-time against the Golden Wolves …
York made their ninth conference championship game appearance and earned their fifth win … York's other championships came in 2004-05, 2011-12, 2017-18, and 2019-20 … this is the third title under current head coach Matt Hunter … the 82 points ties the Spartans most scored points in a conference title game … it's the third time in school history that York has won a title as the second seed in the tournament … the Spartans have won 11 straight at home and are 12-1 at Charles Wolf Gymnasium this year … their overall win streak is now at five … York won their two MAC Commonwealth tournament games by an average of 16 points … the Spartans continue to shoot the ball well from the floor as they shot 52.6% from the field, marking the 12^th time this year they have shot 50% or better in a game … York missed some good looks from three in the first half going just 2-for-10 but they made up for that in the second stanza as they went 8-for-13 (61.5%) from downtown in the second half … York has made double digits from three in 16 games this year … York won the rebounding battle for the 13^th time this year … in their last five games, the Spartans have assisted on 64% (92-of-143) of their made field goals … York now has six games in which they have had at least ten more assists than turnovers in a game … senior Kai Cipalla was named the tournament MVP after leading all scorers with 26 points in addition to nine points, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot in his 38 minutes of work … Cipalla was 9-for-18 from the floor and 8-for-9 at the line … the 20 point effort is his 16^th of the year … Cipalla poured in 50 points in the two tournament games as he shot 62% (18-for-29) from the floor and 82% (14-for-17) from the free throw line … Tate Landis and Jayden Rowe each added 18 points to the Green and White attack … Landis also had three rebounds and two assists as he was 7-for-10 from the floor including 3-for-5 from three and 1-for-3 from the line … Rowe chipped in with two rebounds, five assists, and one blocked shot … Rowe was 6-for-10 from the floor including 3-for-5 from three and 3-for-3 from the line … Jackson Mascari was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 12 points, seven rebounds three assists and two steals.
 
Up Next
The Spartans advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in school history and will find out who and where they will play on Monday at noon when the NCAA unveils the brackets. Please check back at www.ycpspartans.com for all the tournament details.