Turnovers Too Much for Young Spartans to Overcome
YORK, PA-The York College men’s
basketball team fell to Misericordia University 74-66 in the
consolation game of the 2008 White Rose City Classic in York,
PA on Sunday. The Spartans start the season 0-2 for the first
time since 2003 while Misericordia improves to 1-1 with the win. In
the championship game, Susquehanna’s Matt McDevitt hit a free
throw with 12.4 seconds left in regulation to lift the Crusaders to
a 59-57 win over Neumann to earn the team title.
In the consolation tilt, the Spartans opened
the game with the contest’s first bucket but the Cougars then
hit York with a 10-0 spurt to take early command of the game. The
green and white worked themselves back into the game, drawing to
within one at 14-13 on a lay up from junior captain Jeremy
Keefer (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra). The Cougars responded by
quickly pushing the lead back to eight thanks to seven straight
points. York worked the lead back down to three at 27-24 with 4:27
left in the half. Misericordia again put together a run, this one
being an 8-0 spurt, to take a 35-24 lead. York scored four of the
final six points of the half as they went to the break down
37-28.
The Spartans had 13 first half turnovers that
led to 10 Cougar points. Conversely, Misericordia had just four
miscues that led to three Spartan points. The Spartans were woeful
from three as they went just 1-for-11 from distance in the opening
20 minutes of the game.
The Spartans began climbing back into the game
right out of the locker room. The green and white outscored
Misericordia 20-10 over the opening 6:53 of the half as they
captured their first lead since they led 2-0. The game would be
back-and-forth over the next five minutes as York’s final
lead, 56-55, came on a Nick Brady (Hanover, Pa./Delone
Catholic) free throw with 8:23 left in the game. Just over
a minute later, the Cougars’ Dom Del Prete converted a
conventional three point play to put the guests up two. The
Spartans tied the game at 58 before Ethan Eichhorst had a
three-point play and Vinny Baumunk hit a lay up on the fast break
to give the Cougars a five point edge with 5:32 left. York cut the
lead to three before Misericordia scored seven of the final nine
points of the game to earn the win.
Baumunk paced the Cougars with a game-high 26
points as he was 12-for-16 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free
throw line. Eichhorst added 13 points and seven rebounds for the
Cougars. He was 4-for-8 from the floor including one three and a
4-for-7 performance from the free throw line. Del Prete was the
third Cougar in double figures with 12 points while he also had
four assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Robbie Johnson
contributed nine points, six assists, and four steals in 22 minutes
for Misericordia.
The Spartans were paced by Keefer as he
recorded 17 points with two rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist.
Keefer was 7-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-5 from free throw
line. Freshman Paul Kouvaris (Baltimore, Md./Cardinal
Gibbons) drew his first collegiate start and made the most
of it with 14 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
Kouvaris was 4-for-8 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw
line. Brady was the third Spartan in double figures with 14 points
while he also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Freshman
Julian Watson (Odenton, Md./Arunel) chipped in
with eight points, four assists, and three rebounds.
York finished the game shooting 48% from the
field but just 30% from three. Misericordia converted
47.4% of their attempts from the floor while they went
18-for-25 (72%) from the free throw line. The Spartans had 22
turnovers in the game which the Cougars converted into 16 points.
The Cougars dominated scoring in the paint, outscoring York 48-28
while they held a slight 8-6 margin in second chance points. York
outrebounded the Cougars 35-29 for the game.
The championship game was an exciting affair as
Susquehanna erased an 11 point deficit with 9:27 left in regulation
to down Neumann late. The Crusaders were very balanced as Joel
Patch led Susquehanna with 12 points and eight rebounds. Hunter
McKain recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds
while McDevitt was the third Crusader to reach double figures with
11 points in addition to grabbing seven rebounds.
Eli Hitchens paced Neumann with 16 points and
seven rebounds. Michael Hitchens added 10 points to the Knight
cause.
The Spartans return to action on Friday night
as they face Delaware Valley in the opening round of the Oki Data
Americas Tip-Off hosted by Widener University. Tip time from
Chester, PA is scheduled for 8:00 pm.
Paul Kouvaris photo courtesy of Eric Linsley