With the two teams locked in an eight-all tie, the Spartans blitzed the Gophers with a 12-2 run to take a 19-10 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Spartans maintained the lead until the Gophers tied the game at 30 on a Cameron Brown jumper in the paint with 7:49 showing on the clock. After another tie and a Spartan one-point lead, the Gophers took a 35-34 lead on a Jermaine Saunders three. The Spartans retook the lead on a Brian Singer lay up but the Gophers answered with a Garrett Smith lay up 15 seconds later to give the visitors a 37-36 lead with 5:21 remaining. The Spartans held the Gophers to just three points over the last 5:20 of the half as they fashioned a 13-3 half-ending run, giving the Spartans a 49-40 lead at the intermission.
The second half opened with the Gophers attempting to cut into the Spartan advantage. The Gophers sandwiched a six point Spartan run with a four point spurt and a six point run of their own that left the Spartan lead at 55-50 with 13:43 left in regulation. The Spartan ripped off a 10-0, game-turning run that pushed the Spartan advantage to 65-50 with 11:26 left. The Spartan lead would not fall below 10 points the rest of the way. The 25-point final margin was the Spartans’ largest advantage of the night and was also the Spartans’ biggest winning margin against a CAC opponent in 2004-05. The Spartans have now won 15 straight home games and unbeaten at Wolf Gym this year.
The Spartans received a double-double from Singer as the center tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds. Singer was 9-for-13 from the floor while he also recorded three blocked shots. Junior Kenny Fass added 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists as he continues to be one of the best players in the CAC. Sophomore Brad Zerfing scored 13 points, dished out three assists, and grabbed three boards. Sophomore Joe Yeck was the fourth Spartan in double figures as the guard tallied a career-high 11 points. Junior Paddy Lee led the Spartans on the glass with 11 caroms, five assists, four points, one blocked shot, and one steal in 21 minutes of work.
Garrett Smith led the Gophers with a game-high 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Smith was 9-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the charity stripe. Saunders added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists while Trevor Quinn was the third Gopher in double figures with 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
The Spartans shot a blistering 69.7% in the first half and ended the game shooting 50.7% from the floor. The Gophers were also hot in the first half as they shot 50% from the floor. Fortunately for the green and white, the Spartan defense clamped down and held the visitors to 17.9% shooting in the second half. That paltry second half shooting percentage dropped the Gophers’ accuracy mark to just 33.3% for the game. The Gophers made just 4-of-27 from beyond the arc including 0-16 in the second half. York was solid at the free throw line as they made 13-of-15 (86.7%) while Goucher made 10 of their 14 attempts at the charity stripe.
York outrebounded the Gophers 49-40 but Goucher held a 20-13 edge in second-chance points. The Spartan bench outscored their Goucher counterparts 26-15 for the contest.
The Spartans will face Catholic University, 74-69 winners over Marymount, in the championship game. Game time for Sunday’s championship game is set for 2:00 pm. The winner of the tournament will be awarded the Capital Athletic Conference’s automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division III national championship tournament.
Goucher vs York (Pa.) 2/25/05 7:30 pm at Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym-York, PA YORK (PA.) 89, GOUCHER 64 GOUCHER (18-9) Garrett Smith 9-14 4-6 22; Jermaine Saunders 5-16 1-2 13; Trevor Quinn 4-14 3-3 12; Cameron Brown 2-3 2-2 6; Jonathan Garritt 2-9 0-1 4; James Russo 1-6 0-0 3; Tony Posteraro 1-7 0-0 2; Tim Merritt 1-3 0-0 2; Kevin Green 0-2 0-0 0; Justin Ajose 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-75 10-14 64. YORK (PA.) (24-2) Brian Singer 9-13 1-1 19; Kenny Fass 6-9 3-3 17; Brad Zerfing 4-7 4-4 13; Joe Yeck 3-5 4-5 11; Brandon Bushey 3-6 0-0 8; Chad McGowan 3-10 1-2 7; Ben Seibert 3-8 0-0 6; Paddy Lee 2-7 0-0 4; Chris Folland 1-1 0-0 2; Josh Wurtz 1-3 0-0 2; Chris Cioffi 0-0 0-0 0; Shane Beccio 0-0 0-0 0; Dan Klunk 0-0 0-0 0; Pat D'Arcy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-69 13-15 89. Goucher....................... 40 24 - 64 York (Pa.).................... 49 40 - 89 3-point goals-Goucher 4-27 (Jermaine Saunders 2-5; James Russo 1-6; Trevor Quinn 1-5; Tony Posteraro 0-6; Kevin Green 0-1; Jonathan Garritt 0-4), York (Pa.) 6-14 (Brandon Bushey 2-4; Kenny Fass 2-3; Brad Zerfing 1-2; Joe Yeck 1-1; Josh Wurtz 0-1; Paddy Lee 0-1; Chad McGowan 0-2). Fouled out--Goucher-None, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Goucher 40 (Garrett Smith 15), York (Pa.) 49 (Paddy Lee 11). Assists-Goucher 14 (Trevor Quinn 5), York (Pa.) 22 (Paddy Lee 5; Kenny Fass 5). Total fouls-Goucher 18, York (Pa.) 16. A-498