The first half was a tight battle with neither team holding more than a six point lead. St. Mary’s had the distinction of holding the largest advantage as they led 20-14 at the 8:35 mark. The Spartans’ biggest edge came early on as they led 11-7 a little over six minutes into the game. St. Mary’s led 30-26 with three minutes remaining in the stanza but YCP scored six of the final eight points of the half to forge a 32-32 tie heading into the break.
The opening minutes of the second half were just as tight as neither team would be able to gain a significant edge. The Spartans’ first attempt at pulling away came went they went on a 7-0 spurt to take a 43-36 lead five minutes into the half. The Spartans maintained the lead between four and seven points over the next four minutes until the Seahawks went on a Ryan Junghans’ 7-0 run as the freshman guard hit a three and then hit another three while he was being fouled to convert a four-point play, tying the game at 52 with 9:59 left. The Spartans scored the next five points but the Seahawks’ John Dewey and Ben Stewart each converted a three to give St. Mary’s a 58-57 lead. The Spartans then hit the Hawks with a 13-2 run fueled by six Chad McGowan points to take a 70-60 lead with 4:45 remaining in regulation. The Seahawks cut the lead to five twice in the final 1:34 but the Spartans made enough plays down the stretch to hang on to the victory. The six point margin is the closest that a conference opponent has come to the green and white at home this season.
The Spartans received a career performance from McGowan as the freshman poured in a career-high 29 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds. McGowan was 12-for-19 from the floor including a perfect 3-for-3 from distance while he also converted both his free throw attempts. Junior Brandon Bushey added 17 points, four steals, and two rebounds while fellow junior Kenny Fass was the third Spartan in double figures with 11 points. Fass, playing his usual all-around game, added eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 29 minutes of work. Sophomore Brad Zerfing tallied six points, a career-high 10 assists, two steals, and three rebounds while junior Brian Singer added eight points and eight rebounds in the win.
Freshman Jerome Habel led the Seahawks with 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Habel added two steals and two blocked while he was 6-for-13 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Junghans added 16 points and four assists as he converted four of his seven attempts from distance. Jeffrey Turner and John Dewey each tallied 14 points to round out the double figure scorers for the visitors.
The Spartans, who are ranked fourth in the nation in rebounding margin, held a 44-35 edge on the glass in the game. St. Mary’s held the Spartans to 42.3% shooting from the floor for the game, the second worst home shooting performance of the year for YCP. York struggled from the line for the second consecutive game as they made just 13-of-21from the charity stripe, good for 61.9%.
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Gallaudet University. The contest will be the final regular season road contest of the season for the Spartans and tips at 8:00 pm at the GU Fieldhouse.
St. Mary's (Md.) vs York (Pa.) 2/12/05 2:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA YORK (PA.) 80, ST. MARY'S (MD.) 74 ST. MARY'S (MD.) (10-12, 6-6 CAC) Jerome Habel 6-13 6-8 18; Ryan Junghans 4-7 4-5 16; John Dewey 6-11 0-0 14; Jeffrey Turner 6-9 0-2 14; Ben Stewart 3-8 0-0 8; Ryan Carr 0-1 2-2 2; Dan Engelstad 1-5 0-0 2; Tommy Bushell 0-0 0-0 0; T.J. Jordan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 12-17 74. YORK (PA.) (20-2, 10-2 CAC) Chad McGowan 12-19 2-2 29; Brandon Bushey 6-12 2-2 17; Kenny Fass 4-10 2-5 11; Brian Singer 3-9 2-4 8; Ben Seibert 3-11 0-0 6; Brad Zerfing 1-6 4-6 6; Paddy Lee 1-2 1-2 3; Josh Wurtz 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Yeck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-71 13-21 80. St. Mary's (Md.).............. 32 42 - 74 York (Pa.).................... 32 48 - 80 3-point goals-St. Mary's (Md.) 10-21 (Ryan Junghans 4-7; Ben Stewart 2-4; John Dewey 2-2; Jeffrey Turner 2-4; T.J. Jordan 0-1; Dan Engelstad 0-2; Jerome Habel 0-1), York (Pa.) 7-14 (Brandon Bushey 3-5; Chad McGowan 3-3; Kenny Fass 1-4; Brad Zerfing 0-1; Josh Wurtz 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's (Md.)-Ryan Junghans, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-St. Mary's (Md.) 35 (Jerome Habel 13), York (Pa.) 44 (Chad McGowan 12). Assists-St. Mary's (Md.) 15 (Dan Engelstad 5), York (Pa.) 19 (Brad Zerfing 10). Total fouls-St. Mary's (Md.) 21, York (Pa.) 17. A-680