The Spartans, much like they did in the second round game against Virginia Wesleyan game, jumped out to a 20-9 lead a little over six minutes into the game. The green and white built the lead to 16 on a Paddy Lee layup with 11:55 left in the half. The Engineers went to work on the Spartan lead and scored on three consecutive possessions to trim the lead to three. The 8-0 run was capped by a Mike Prestileo trey as the Spartans led just 32-29 with 7:14 remaining in the stanza. The Spartans eventually pushed the lead back to 10 before settling for a 49-42 halftime lead. The first half belonged to junior Brandon Bushey as the guard poured in 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.
The green and white opened the second half with a 15-1 run turning the seven point halftime lead into a 21 point bulge with 15:41 remaining in the game. The Spartan lead grew to as many as 28 before the Engineers scored 11 of the final 13 points of the game to provide for the final margin. Sophomore Brad Zerfing provided the second-half scoring punch for the Spartans as he tallied 19 of his game-high 23 points.
Zerfing led the Spartans with his 23 points while Bushey chipped in with 18. Zerfing also had four rebounds and four assists while Bushey collected three boards and a steal. Junior Kenny Fass (Dallastown, PA/Dallastown) was the third Spartan in double figures with 11 points while he also had five rebounds and five steals. Freshman Chad McGowan, the CAC Rookie-of-the-Year, contributed 10 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one blocked shot. Senior Ben Seibert led the Spartans on the glass as he pulled in a game-high 12 caroms in addition to eight points and one blocked shot. Lee added nine points and six rebounds while senior Josh Wurtz came off the bench for seven key points for the Spartans.
Scott Misiaszek led the Engineers with 14 points and nine rebounds while Antoine Coleman chipped in with 11 points and nine boards in just 24 minutes of action. Ryan Cain, the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year, was held to a season-low nine points by the Spartans. Cain entered the game averaging 19.9 points per game but went just 3-for-9 from the field and a very uncharacteristic 2-for-4 from the free throw line. Brian Steele, Prestileo, and Ryan Flynn were the other Engineers in double figures with 11 points each.
The Spartans shot a blistering 62.5% from the floor in the first half including 4-of-8 from distance. The Engineers also shot the ball well in the first half as they converted 53.3% of their attempts from the floor. The second half saw both teams cool as York converted 39.5% of their shots from the field while WPI made just 9-of-29 for a 31% accuracy mark.
York held a 50-35 edge on the glass while WPI held a 22-17 edge in made free throws for the game.
The Spartans will look to earn their first NCAA Division III Final Four berth on Saturday evening as they face off against the winner of the Kings College/Ramapo College semifinal contest. Game time at the Bill Bradley Center at Ramapo College is slated for 7:00 pm.
WPI vs York (Pa.) 3/11/05 6:00PM at Mahwah, NJ Bradley Center At Mahwah, NJ Bradley Center YORK (PA.) 99, WPI 80 WPI (24-4) Scott Misiaszek 6-13 2-4 14; Ryan Flynn 4-8 1-2 11; Mike Prestileo 4-7 0-0 11; Brian Steele 2-4 6-6 11; Antoine Coleman 3-6 5-7 11; Ryan Cain 3-9 2-4 9; Kevin Reidy 1-1 2-2 4; John Costello 1-3 0-0 3; James Marois 1-6 1-2 3; Travis Weber 0-0 2-2 2; Kevin Barrett 0-0 1-2 1; Ryan Bourque 0-1 0-0 0; Colin Slifka 0-0 0-0 0; Steve Furber 0-0 0-0 0; Brett Dickson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 22-31 80. YORK (PA.) (27-2) Brad Zerfing 7-11 6-6 23; Brandon Bushey 7-10 1-1 18; Kenny Fass 4-9 3-4 11; Chad McGowan 4-8 2-4 10; Brian Singer 4-8 1-2 9; Paddy Lee 4-5 0-1 9; Ben Seibert 4-11 0-1 8; Josh Wurtz 3-7 0-1 7; Shane Beccio 0-0 2-2 2; Joe Yeck 0-2 2-2 2; Chris Folland 0-3 0-0 0; Chris Cioffi 0-0 0-0 0; Dan Klunk 0-0 0-0 0; Pat D'Arcy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-75 17-24 99. WPI........................... 42 38 - 80 York (Pa.).................... 49 50 - 99 3-point goals-WPI 8-19 (Mike Prestileo 3-6; Ryan Flynn 2-4; Ryan Cain 1-3; Brian Steele 1-2; John Costello 1-2; James Marois 0-2), York (Pa.) 8-18 (Brandon Bushey 3-5; Brad Zerfing 3-3; Paddy Lee 1-1; Josh Wurtz 1-4; Joe Yeck 0-1; Chris Folland 0-1; Chad McGowan 0-2; Kenny Fass 0-1). Fouled out--WPI-Antoine Coleman, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-WPI 35 (Scott Misiaszek 9; Antoine Coleman 9), York (Pa.) 50 (Ben Seibert 12). Assists-WPI 7 (Mike Prestileo 2), York (Pa.) 9 (Brad Zerfing 4). Total fouls-WPI 21, York (Pa.) 23. A-1200