Mary Washington began the game with a quick 5-2 lead but the Spartans went on an 18-5 run to take a 20-10 lead with 11:17 remaining in the half. The Eagles cut the lead to four but the Spartans slowly pushed their advantage to 13 on a Brian Singer fast break lay up with 3:46 remaining before the break. That 13 point lead would be the high water mark for the Spartans in the opening half before the Eagles trimmed the Spartan lead to nine, 45-36, at the half.
The opening minutes of the second half turned the momentum squarely to the Spartans’ favor. The green and white held the Eagles scoreless for the first 6:13 of the second half as they pushed their lead from nine to 22, thanks to a 13-0 run. Mary Washington persevered and worked the Spartan lead back down to single digits when Justin Baker hit a pair of free throws with 7:22 left, cutting the Spartan advantage to eight at 67-59. The Spartans then hit the Eagles with a game-sealing 10-0 run as Paddy Lee hit a three and a lay up, Singer hit a lay up of his own and Brandon Bushey hit a dagger three with 3:44 left to push the Spartan lead to 18. Mary Washington trimmed the lead back down to nine with a 9-0 spurt of their own but they ran out of time as the Spartans remained perfect at home.
Singer led the Spartans as the junior center poured in a game-high 20 points. He was 10-for-11 from the floor in addition to pulling in a game-high tying seven boards. Junior Kenny Fass added 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one blocked shot to the Spartan attack. Bushey was the third Spartan in double figures with 13 points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Lee contributed nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 18 minutes of work.
Baker led Mary Washington with 18 points while he also had four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. A.J. Fitzgerald added 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and three assists. Mike Lee, the CAC’s leading scorer who torched the Spartans for 37 points in their previous meeting in January, was held to 13 points. Lee also pulled down three rebounds and handed out two assists. Freshman Jon Pierce was the fourth Eagle in double figures with 12 points.
The Spartans shot a blistering 56.9% from the floor for the game while they made 52.9% of their attempts from distance. Mary Washington finished the game shooting 42.6% from the floor but just 36.7% from downtown. The Eagles did make 11 triples as they are ninth in the country in three point field goals per game. The Spartans are ranked in a few national categories themselves including rebounding margin as they are fourth in the country. Today was no different as YCP held a 36-26 edge in caroms.
Mary Washington held a significant edge in trips to the free throw line as they made 16 visits to the charity stripe while YCP made a season-low eight trips to the line. The three made free throws for York is also a season low. York did hold a significant 40-22 edge in points in the paint
The Spartans begin the Capital Athletic Conference tournament at home against Gallaudet on Tuesday evening. The Bison have played the Spartans tough during the course of the season as York owns a seven point win at home and a four point road victory last week. It is the first time since 1994-95 that the Spartans have had home court advantage in the CAC tournament. Tip time for Tuesday’s quarterfinal is set for 7:30 pm. Mary Washington opens their CAC tournament by hosting Marymount University on Tuesday.
Mary Washington vs York (Pa.) 2/19/05 2:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA YORK (PA.) 78, MARY WASHINGTON 68 MARY WASHINGTON (17-8, 9-5 CAC) Justin Baker 5-12 7-7 18; A.J. Fitzgerald 5-12 0-0 14; Mike Lee 5-12 0-2 13; Jon Pierce 4-11 1-4 12; Kevin Moore 3-3 1-1 7; Josh Wilson 1-3 0-0 2; Mike Mattson 0-0 2-2 2; Paul Ruhmann 0-1 0-0 0; Drew DeMartini 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Gallinat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 11-16 68. YORK (PA.) (22-2, 12-2 CAC) Brian Singer 10-11 0-0 20; Kenny Fass 6-9 1-2 15; Brandon Bushey 5-10 0-2 13; Paddy Lee 4-5 0-0 9; Brad Zerfing 2-7 2-2 8; Ben Seibert 3-10 0-0 6; Joe Yeck 1-1 0-0 3; Chad McGowan 1-4 0-2 2; Josh Wurtz 1-1 0-0 2; Dan Klunk 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-58 3-8 78. Mary Washington............... 36 32 - 68 York (Pa.).................... 45 33 - 78 3-point goals-Mary Washington 11-30 (A.J. Fitzgerald 4-11; Jon Pierce 3-6; Mike Lee 3-9; Justin Baker 1-3; Paul Ruhmann 0-1), York (Pa.) 9-17 (Brandon Bushey 3-6; Kenny Fass 2-4; Brad Zerfing 2-5; Joe Yeck 1-1; Paddy Lee 1-1). Fouled out--Mary Washington-None, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Mary Washington 26 (A.J. Fitzgerald 7), York (Pa.) 36 (Brian Singer 7; Paddy Lee 7). Assists-Mary Washington 15 (Jon Pierce 4), York (Pa.) 23 (Brandon Bushey 5). Total fouls-Mary Washington 11, York (Pa.) 20. A-1057