The green and white opened the game on fire from distance as they shredded the Goucher zone to the tune of eight three point field goals in the opening 6:13 of the game. The Spartans led by 14, 28-14, after the opening onslaught and it didn’t get much better for the eighth seeded Gophers. The Spartans pushed the lead to a half-high of 22 on a Nate Fry lay up with 8:11 left in the half. The Gophers responded with a 7-0 spurt to trim the lead to 15 but York quickly responded with a jumper from Chad McGowan and a three from Brandon Bushey to get the lead back to 20. The Spartans would take that 20-point bulge into the intermission. The Spartans shot a sizzling 64.3% from the floor in the first half including 11-of-17 (64.7%) from three in the stanza.
The second half saw the Goucher duo of James Russo and Jonathan Garritt heat up. Fortunately for the Spartans, York had built the lead to 31 when Russo scored 11 of his 17 second half points followed by five points from Garritt as they trimmed the York lead to 23. A Brian Singer lay up followed by a Kenny Fass three and fast break lay up pushed the lead back to 30 at 84-54 with 5:23 left in the game. The Gophers scored 13 of the final 18 points of the game to provide for the Spartans’ final 21 point margin of victory.
Fass led the Spartans with a career-high 25 points as he was a blistering 8-for-11 from the field including a mind-numbing 6-for-9 from distance for the game. Fass added five rebounds, three steals and an assist in 27 minutes of play. It is the second consecutive game that Fass has established a career-high after pouring in 24 points in the win over Mary Washington on Saturday. Singer was also highly efficient for the Spartans as he added 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor in just 17 minutes. Singer added five rebounds to the Spartan cause. Bushey contributed 14 points, a career-high tying six assists, and two rebounds to York attack. McGowan was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds. Junior point guard Brad Zerfing put together another steady effort with eight points, a team-high seven dimes, and five caroms in 23 minutes of action. Fry chipped in with nine points and six boards for York. Senior Paddy Lee pulled down nine boards for the Spartans while he handed out three assists in addition to recording one blocked shot and one steal.
The Gophers were led by Russo as the junior sharp shooter tallied a game-high 29 points while he also had five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Russo was 9-for-21 from the floor including 6-for-15 from three and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Garritt closed out his stellar career with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a steal in 40 minutes of work. Tim Merritt added eight points and five rebounds to the Gopher offense.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 56.7% from the floor including 51.6% (16-for-31) from three. The 16 three point field goals are a season-high and is just one short of tying a school record. York made all five of their free throws for the game. Goucher shot an identical 12-for-31 (38.7%) in both halves while they finished the game 12-for-35 (34.3%) from three. The Gophers sank 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
York out-rebounded the small Gophers 40-25 and outscored the visitors 32-16 in the paint. The hosts also held a 15-4 edge in second-chance points and a 30-6 bulge in bench points.
The Spartans put their home court win streak on the line on Thursday when they host the Sea Gulls from Salisbury in the tournament semifinals. Tip time will be determined on Wednesday morning. The Sea Gulls are just one of two teams to hand the Spartans a loss this season as they defeated York 69-67 on December 10. York avenged the loss on January 28 when they defeated Salisbury 96-62 on January 28.
Goucher vs York (Pa.) 2/21/06 8:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA YORK (PA.) 89, GOUCHER 68 GOUCHER (3-21) James Russo 9-21 5-5 29; Jonathan Garritt 8-22 0-0 19; Tim Merritt 4-8 0-2 8; Justin Ajose 1-2 3-4 6; C.J. Snipes 1-3 0-0 3; Ryan Moreland 1-3 0-0 3; Jim Sweeney 0-0 0-0 0; Jon Sicherman 0-1 0-0 0; Conor Martin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 8-11 68. YORK (PA.) (24-2) Kenny Fass 8-11 3-3 25; Brian Singer 8-9 0-0 16; Brandon Bushey 5-12 0-0 14; Chad McGowan 4-10 0-0 10; Nate Fry 4-7 0-0 9; Brad Zerfing 3-4 0-0 8; Evan Bradlee 1-1 0-0 3; Paddy Lee 0-3 2-2 2; Quinn Howard 1-1 0-0 2; Pat Kelley 0-0 0-0 0; Pat D'Arcy 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Folland 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Riley 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Yeck 0-0 0-0 0; Shane Beccio 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 5-5 89. Goucher....................... 30 38 - 68 York (Pa.).................... 50 39 - 89 3-point goals-Goucher 12-35 (James Russo 6-15; Jonathan Garritt 3-12; Justin Ajose 1-2; Ryan Moreland 1-3; C.J. Snipes 1-2; Conor Martin 0-1), York (Pa.) 16-31 (Kenny Fass 6-9; Brandon Bushey 4-10; Chad McGowan 2-3; Brad Zerfing 2-3; Nate Fry 1-3; Evan Bradlee 1-1; Shane Beccio 0-1; Paddy Lee 0-1). Fouled out--Goucher-None, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Goucher 25 (James Russo 5; Tim Merritt 5), York (Pa.) 40 (Paddy Lee 9). Assists-Goucher 15 (Justin Ajose 6), York (Pa.) 25 (Brad Zerfing 7). Total fouls-Goucher 8, York (Pa.) 11. A-1031 2006 CAPITAL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS The Spartans win their 31st straight game at Wolf Gym and advance to host either Gallaudet or Salisbury in the CAC quarters on Thursday. Kenny Fass picks up a career-high for the second straight game.