YORK, PA – The York College men's basketball team outlasted #24 John Carroll 71-69 in a thrilling NCAA Tournament first round game on Friday night in York.
The game was tight all along there were 10 lead changes and 12 ties during the game.
York advances to the second round as they are now 22-6 overall while the Blue Streaks see their outstanding campaign come to an end with an identical 22-6 mark.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fantastic start as they raced out to a 13-4 lead just under five minutes into the game. York drained a trio to triples on the run as Jayden Rowe, Jackson Mascari and Chris Miers all buried threes on the spurt. The Blue Streaks scored nine of the game's next 14 points to trim the Spartan lead to 18-13. After a pair of Kai Cipalla free throws, John Carroll ripped off a 9-2 spurt, tying the game at 22 at the midway point of the first half.
• York pushed their lead back to six but the Blue Streaks wouldn't allow the Spartans to pull away any further. The Blue Streaks locked down the Spartans in the final four minutes of the half as York scored just two points. Fortunately for York, the Spartan defense was also up to the task as they only allowed John Carroll to score six points over the final 4:14 of the half as the teams headed to the intermission tied at 32.
• The Spartans got off to a strong start to the second half as they scored nine of the first 13 points of the stanza, pushing out to a 41-36 lead. Again, the Spartans went dry on the offensive end and the Blue Streaks went on a 9-2 run to take a 45-43 advantage with 13:01 left in the game. That began a back-and-forth stretch of play as there were seven ties and eight lead changes. The final lead change came with 1:48 left as Cipalla got a steal and a lay-up to put the Spartans up 63-61.
• John Carroll's Will Yontek split a pair of free throws with 1:32 left to cut the York lead to one. On the ensuing possession, Tate Landis drilled a huge three to put York up four with 1:08 left. York got a stop on their next possession as Mascari got a defensive rebound and raced down the floor for a fast break lay-up and a six-point lead with 22.2 seconds left. John Carroll got a Luke Frazier triple with 18 seconds left as the Blue Streaks weren't done. John Carroll fouled Cipalla with 17.6 seconds left and he split the pair as York led 69-65. Yonktek converted a bucket off an offensive rebound with 7.8 seconds left, cutting York's lead to two. Cipalla was again fouled and the senior sunk both to give York at four-point lead. The Blue Streaks got a bucket at the horn but Cipalla's free throws rendered the bucket moot as York earned the two-point win.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans shot 41.7% (25-for-60) from the floor including 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three …the Spartans shot 52% (13-for-25) from the free throw line … John Carroll shot 46.6% (27-for-58) from the field including 7-for-18 (38.9%) from distance and 80% (8-for-10) from the free throw line … the Blue Streaks out-rebounded the Spartans 43-32 but York had a 14-13 edge in offensive rebounds … John Carroll had a 19-11 margin in second chance points … York held a slight 34-30 edge in paint points … York forced 16 turnovers which they turned into 14 points … York had eight miscues which cost them just seven points … York's largest lead was nine (13-4) while John Carroll's largest advantage was two on multiple occasions … York notched 13 steals … the Blue Streaks are now 13-5 all-time in opening round games but just 2-6 in opening round road games in the NCAA Tournament … John Carroll head coach Pete Moran lost for just the first time in the first round as the Blue Streak head coach … John Carroll is now 25-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … Luke Frazier was fantastic for the Blue Streaks as he notched 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds … Frazier, the OAC Player of the Year, added four assists, two blocked shots and a steal … Will Yontek added 18 points, eight rebounds and an assist in his 29 minutes of work … Henry Raynor just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds … the Blue Streak starters scored 62 of their 69 total points.
 
Spartan Notes
The meeting was the first between John Carroll and York … the Spartans have now advanced to the second round in all four NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Matt Hunter … York is now 8-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as they played their 16^th different tournament opponent … York has advanced to the second round in six of their eight all-time appearances … York is now 4-2 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament … the Spartans improve to 13-1 at Wolf Gymnasium as they have 12 straight at home … York has won six straight overall, their longest win streak of the year … York is now 2-0 against nationally ranked teams this year … York made eight threes in the game snapping a streak of four straight game with double digits from distance … the Spartans did a fantastic job of taking care of the ball as they had just eight turnovers … York is averaging 8.3 turnovers per game in their three post season games this year … York had 13 steals in the win and that's the eighth time this year they have reached double figures in the category … after being limited to six points in the first half, Kai Cipalla went off in the second half with 21 points as he scored a game-high 27 in the win … Cipalla, the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, was 9-for-14 from the floor and 9-for-13 from the free throw … Cipalla added five rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocked shots … junior Jayden Rowe added 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals to the Spartan attack … Jackson Mascari was the third Spartan to reach double figures with 13 points while he also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals … the Spartan starters combined to score 68 of the team's 71 points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will face off against #1 NYU with a berth in the 2025 NCAA Sweet 16 on the line. The Violets cruised past SUNY Cortland 72-36 in the weekend's opening game. Tip time is set for 7:20 pm on Saturday night at Wolf Gymnasium. The gates open at 6:20 pm.

Audio Highlights Courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans
Post Game Interviews