DALLAS, PA – The York College men's basketball team took to the road to face a talented Misericordia Cougar squad on Sunday in Dallas, Pa. The Cougars scored eight of the final ten points of the game to capture a 72-64 non-conference win at the Anderson Center.
The Cougars improve to 6-1 overall while the Spartans fall to 0-5.
The Spartans got off to a good start as they led for the first nine minutes of the game before the Cougars tied the game at 16 and then took a three point lead on a Jesse Urich triple on Misericordia's next possession.
The Cougars eventually pushed their lead to nine at 31-22 but the youthful Spartans put together an 11-0 run to forge a 33-31 lead with 38 seconds left in the half. Unfortunately for York, Erik Kerns got a lay up and Urich got a steal and banged a three at the horn as the Cougars turned a two point deficit into a 36-33 halftime lead.
Misericordia came out strong after the intermission as they began the second half with a 13-5 run. That gave the Cougars a 49-38 lead and it looked like they were poised to blow the game wide open. Much to the Spartans' credit, they put together a 16-3 run to take a 54-52 lead with 10:38 remaining in the game.
Misericordia responded with a 10-1 run over the next four minutes to forge a 62-55 lead over the Green and White. York went 0-for-6 from the floor and 1-for-2 from the free throw line during the Cougar run.
The Spartans continued to battle as they cut their deficit to two at 64-62 with 2:03 left as freshman Matt Scamuffo (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) converted a traditional three-point play. That was as close as York would get the rest of the way as the Cougars ended the game with the 8-2 run to secure the win. York went 1-for-6 from the floor over the last two minutes as Misericordia hung on for the win.
Steve Ware came up big for the Cougars as he tallied a double-double with a game-high 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Ware was 9-for-19 from the floor and 8-for-13 from the free throw line. James Hawk added 11 points, three blocked shots and four rebounds in just 15 minutes for the Cougars.
Sophomore Dalton Myers (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) led the Spartans with 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots, and two assists. Myers was 8-for-19 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in 37 minutes of action. Sophomore Blake Straitman (Westminster, Md./Francis Scott Key) was outstanding off the bench for York as he notched career-highs with 16 points and nine rebounds in his 26 minutes of action. Straitman was 7-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the stripe. Mike Duffy (Hanover, Pa./South Western) added 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 35 minutes. Duffy was 4-for-8 from the floor including 3-for-5 from three while he also didn't commit a turnover in the loss. Junior Chris Conway (Luthersville, Md./Dulaney) added a career-high 10 points while he also had three rebounds and two assists in the game.
York finished the game shooting 41.5% from the floor while they went 3-for-12 (25%) from three. The Spartans drained 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the charity stripe.
Misericordia shot 43.8% from the field in the win while they converted 6-of-15 (40%) from three. The Cougars held a significant edge at the line as they made 17 trips, making 10 of those attempts in the game.
The Green and White were whistled for 16 fouls and had two players foul out in the loss.
The Cougars held a 43-37 margin on the glass as Misericordia held a slight 11-7 advantage in second chance points. The Spartans took care of the basketball as they committed just 10 miscues in the game. However, the Cougars made the Spartans pay as Misericordia turned those turnovers into 17 points.
The Green and White open Capital Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night when they travel to Penn State Harrisburg to face the Lions in York's conference opener. Tip time in Middletown is set for 8:00 pm.