February 2, 2009

YORK, PA – The York College men’s basketball team captured a crucial 71-66 Capital Athletic Conference victory over Mary Washington Monday evening at the Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center. The Spartans’ record improves to 7-14 on the year including 5-7 in conference play while the Eagles drop to 10-9 and 7-4 in the CAC.
    Both squads raced out to a blistering pace throughout the game’s opening minutes. Mary Washington grabbed an early lead but was unable to stretch that advantage to beyond six points.
    Spartan junior guard Nick Brady (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic), who continued his torrid play at home with tonight’s team-high 20 points, helped keep the Spartans close as he canned three of his first four attempts from deep by the 14:32 mark.  
    Jeremy Keefer’s (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) jumper with 10:45 to play in the first gave the Spartans a 19-18 lead, their first advantage since 6-4 seven minutes earlier.
    The Spartans then embarked on an extended run throughout the remainder of the half. Following Keefer’s score, senior guard Mike Riley (Webster, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) canned two triples to open up a 25-18 lead for the Green and White. York would push their margin to as much as 12 by the end of the frame and head into the locker room with a 38-26 lead.
    In the second stanza, the Spartans continued to push their lead. The Green and White gained a 14-point advantage on two occasions, the latter coming at 44-30 on a Brady lay-up with 16:21 to play.
    From there, the visitors began chipping away at the Spartan lead. The Eagles’ Tad Dickman scored three consecutive lay-ups to cut the lead to 48-40 with 13:26 left. Over the next 4:22, Mary Washington continually thwarted the Spartans’ attempts to pull away and kept to within striking distance.
    Back-to-back triples from Dickman and Ryan Farrar sliced York’s once 14-point margin to a mere five at 55-50 with 8:06 showing on the game clock. Four points by Brandon Altman and a lay-up from Jonathan Blaine over the next 2:57 cut deeper into the margin, leaving the Green and White with the slimmest of leads at 57-56 with 5:49 remaining.
    York then responded with a 4:28 10-3 run to open an eight-point edge at 67-59. Keefer poured in seven of his 19 points over that span including a huge triple with 1:46 left.
    Several Spartan miscues during the final 1:20 allowed the Eagles back into the game. Blaine nailed a three with only 35 seconds left to cut the margin to 68-66.
    Fortunately for the Green and White, the Eagles were forced to foul freshman guard Julian Watson (Odenton, Md./Arundel) who buried 3-of-4 free throws to effectively ice the game and give the Spartans the 71-66 final.
    Brady’s 20 came on an 8-for-19 performance from the field, including 4-for-8 from deep, and 2-for-4 from the line. Keefer went an efficient 7-for-8 from the floor to tally his 19. The junior buried his only three of the game and went a flawless 4-for-4 from the stripe, while he added four blocks and three assists. Riley tied his career-high with 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting including a trio of big threes and a 2-for-2 performance at the free throw line.
    Altmann led the Eagles with a 20-point night as the 6’9” center went 7-for-11 from the field and hit 6-of-8 free throws while pulling down ten rebounds. Kiernan Whitworth was the second visitor to record a double-double with 13 points and 10 caroms over his 35 minutes of play. Dickman registered 15 points on 6-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three.
    York shot a solid 46.3% from the floor on 25-of-54 shooting and went 8-of-18 from distance. The Spartans were a cool 13-of-16 from the stripe and ripped 13 steals on the evening.
    Mary Washington nailed 48.1% of their attempts for the game. The Eagles went 25-for-52 from the floor, including 6-for-19 from three-point range, and 10-for-12 from the line. The Eagles bested the Spartans on the boards, securing 32 rebounds to York’s 28.
    The Green and White hit the road this weekend, traveling to St. Mary’s City, Md. The Spartans and Seahawks are slated for a 4:00 pm CAC tilt.

BOX SCORE

Nick Brady photo courtesy of Steve Doemland