The Spartans looked sluggish early as the Monarchs built a 16-9 lead just under eight minutes into the game. The Monarchs maintained their lead throughout the remainder of the half. York did trim the lead to one at 21-20 with 7:17 remaining but Kings built the lead back to six at 28-22 with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The Spartans closed the half by scoring eight of the final 12 points of the stanza as they trailed 32-30 at the half. It was just the eighth time in 30 games that the green and white have trailed at the break and they are now 6-2 when facing a deficit at the half.
The second half saw the Spartans take the lead and then slowly start to pull away. The green and white used a prolonged 13-4 run that covered the first 5:33 of the half to take a 43-36 lead. The Monarchs cut the lead to two at 43-41 but YCP used an 11-1 spurt to push the advantage to 12 with 8:13 left. The run was capped by a Joe Yeck three and the green and white’s lead would not fall below double figures the rest of the way. The York lead grew to as many as 15 before the green and white settled for the 12 point win and their ticket to the Final Four.
The Spartans were led by tournament MVP Brandon Bushey as the junior poured in 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Bushey was 7-for-10 from the floor while he also was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Fellow junior Kenny Fass, an all-tournament team selection, added 14 points and harassed the Monarchs’ Brian Horgan into an 0-5 performance from beyond the arc. Senior Ben Seibert pulled down a game-high tying nine rebounds while he also chipped in with six points. Sophomore Brad Zerfing tallied seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the victory.
Horgan, the MAC Freedom Player of the Year, led the Monarchs with 15 hard-earned points. Vince Scalzo posted a solid effort with 13 points and nine rebounds while John Soboleski was the third Monarch in double figures with 13 points while he pulled down eight rebounds.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 47.8% from the floor while Kings converted 39.3% of their field goal attempts. York held Kings to 33.3% in the second half. Much of that poor shooting can be attributed to the Monarchs’ tough Sweet 16 game against Ramapo as well as a ramped up second half Spartan defensive effort. Neither team was great from the free throw line as the Spartans made 66.7% of their shots from the charity stripe while Kings made just 46.2% of their attempts from the line.
Kings outrebounded the Spartans 37-36 as they are just the fifth team to outboard the Spartans in a game this year. Ironically, York is now 5-0 when losing the battle on th glass. The Monarchs also held an 11-9 edge in assists and that is just the second time this year that an opponent has had more assists than York. The Spartans also converted 14 Monarch turnovers into 19 points.
The Spartans will now face the defending national champions, Wisconsin Stevens-Point, in the national semifinal on Friday, March 18. Game time will be announced shortly. Rochester and Calvin will square off in the other semifinal.
YCP vs Kings 3/12/05 7:00PM at Mahwah, NJ Bradley Center At Mahwah, NJ Bradley Center YCP 70, KINGS 58 YCP (28-2) Brandon Bushey 7-10 6-6 21; Kenny Fass 4-8 5-8 14; Chad McGowan 4-8 0-0 8; Brad Zerfing 1-7 5-7 7; Brian Singer 2-4 2-6 6; Ben Seibert 1-5 3-4 5; Joe Yeck 1-1 1-2 4; Paddy Lee 1-2 0-0 3; Josh Wurtz 1-1 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; Chris Folland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 22-33 70. KINGS (24-6) Brian Horgan 7-13 1-8 15; Vince Scalzo 6-9 0-1 13; John Soboleski 5-9 3-5 13; Marty O'Hora 1-6 4-6 6; Jamie Cousart 1-6 3-4 5; Jim Welsh 1-4 0-0 3; Thomas Moore 1-6 0-0 2; George Evancho 0-0 1-2 1; Jared Black 0-1 0-0 0; Landon Gabriel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 12-26 58. YCP........................... 30 40 - 70 Kings......................... 32 26 - 58 3-point goals-YCP 4-13 (Paddy Lee 1-1; Joe Yeck 1-1; Brandon Bushey 1-3; Kenny Fass 1-5; Brad Zerfing 0-2; Chad McGowan 0-1), Kings 2-17 (Jim Welsh 1-3; Vince Scalzo 1-1; Marty O'Hora 0-2; Jamie Cousart 0-2; Thomas Moore 0-2; Jared Black 0-1; Landon Gabriel 0-1; Brian Horgan 0-5). Fouled out--YCP-Paddy Lee; Kenny Fass, Kings-Thomas Moore. Rebounds-YCP 36 (Ben Seibert 9), Kings 37 (Vince Scalzo 9). Assists-YCP 9 (Brad Zerfing 3), Kings 11 (Landon Gabriel 4). Total fouls-YCP 22, Kings 23. A-1000