The opening eight minutes of the game were extremely tight as neither team was able to establish momentum. The Falcons took a 20-17 lead on a Quinn McCullough jumper with 10:40 left in the half. The Spartans then hit the Falcons with a 17-4 spurt to take a 34-24 lead with 6:20 remaining. The Spartans eventually pushed the lead to 13 on a Brandon Bushey jumper with just over four minutes left in the half. The Falcons scored 13 of the final 20 points of the half to head into the break down 47-40.
The second half started with a Brad Zerfing triple, increasing the lead to 10. Messiah responded with a 10-1 run, cutting the Spartan lead to 51-50 with 14:25 left on the clock. After a time out, the Spartans scored nine of the next 11 points of the game to take a 60-52 advantage. The Falcons were not going away as they trimmed the lead to three and eventually two on a Jared Yoder lay up with 7:51 left. York used the next three minutes to build the lead in a critical portion of the game. The green and white outscored Messiah 12-2 to take a 78-66 lead with just 4:30 left. The Falcons cut the lead to eight on a Steve King three with 1:12 left but York went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the victory.
The Spartans were led by Bushey as the senior had a team-high 18 points while he also had seven rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Chad McGowan recorded a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Freshman Nate Fry capped a great weekend with 17 points and a career-high tying six rebounds. Senior Brian Singer was solid with 12 points and four rebounds while senior Kenny Fass was the final Spartan in double figures with 11 points. Junior Joe Yeck led the green and white with six assists and no turnovers in his 16 minutes of action. Bushey and Fass were the Spartans’ two All-Tournament team picks.
Yoder, Messiah’s All-Tournament team selection, led the Falcons with a game-high 27 points while he also had nine rebounds and four assists. King added 14 points and five caroms while Zach Wiernicki played a solid floor game with 14 points, nine rebounds, six rebounds, and one steal in 31 minutes. McCullough chipped in with seven points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 54% from the floor while they also converted 43.8% from three. The green and white also held a significant edge at the free throw line as they were 11-for-15 while Messiah was just 3-for-4 at the charity stripe. Messiah ended the game shooting 44.3% from the floor but a blistering 57.1% (12-21) from three. York narrowly out-rebounded the Falcons 36-35. The Spartan bench outscored their Messiah counterparts 28-7.
In the other tournament contest, Lebanon Valley’s Jimmy Curran hit a driving lay up with five seconds left to lift the Flying Dutchmen to the victory. The Lions were unable to get off a shot before the final horn sounded as they lost for just the fourth time this season.
The Flying Dutchmen controlled play early as they led by as many as nine in the first half. The Lions used a 14-5 run late in the half to take a 31-30 lead. The two teams then traded baskets over the last three minutes of the half before Lincoln settled for a 38-26 halftime lead.
The Lions came out of the half and controlled play but were unable to put the Flying Dutchmen away. Lincoln’s lead was at 12, 64-52, with 10:13 left. The Flying Dutchmen then rode the hot shooting of Dan Hodge to tie the game at 68 thanks to a 16-4 run. Hodge scored 12 points on the run on four treys. The Lions came back and took a 77-73 lead with 3:40 left. Lebanon Valley worked their deficit down and took the lead, 80-79, on a Kyle Enoch jumper with 1:57 remaining. Darryl White tied the game as he split a pair of free throws with 1:23 but the Flying Dutchmen got the win on the Curran lay up.
Dan Hodge led LVC with 20 points while he also had three rebounds. Curran ended the game with 15 points, six assists, and four rebounds while Dan Hogan, LVC’s All-Tournament team member, pulled in 10 rebounds to go with his seven points. Dave Kasyan chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds while Hunter Bretschneider was the fourth LVC player in double figures with 12 points.
Kyle Myrick led the Lions with 24 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and five steals in 40 minutes. All-tournament team selection Sami Wylie added 18 points and six rebounds. Tyreek Byard contributed 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots while White added 11 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocked shots.
The Spartans continue their season-high seven game home stand with a CAC contest against Marymount on Wednesday at 8:00 pm.
Messiah vs York (Pa.) 1/7/06 3:00 PM at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA YORK (PA.) 86, MESSIAH 77 MESSIAH (9-4) Jared Yoder 12-16 0-0 27; Steve King 5-9 1-2 14; Zach Wiernicki 6-19 0-0 14; Matt Henninger 3-6 0-0 8; Quinn Mccullough 2-11 2-2 7; Drew Sneeringer 2-3 0-0 5; Darryl Brown 1-5 0-0 2; Dan Snyder 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 3-4 77. YORK (PA.) (11-1) Brandon Bushey 5-9 6-6 18; Chad McGowan 7-15 3-6 17; Nate Fry 8-11 0-0 17; Brian Singer 6-11 0-1 12; Kenny Fass 4-6 0-0 11; Paddy Lee 2-5 2-2 6; Brad Zerfing 2-4 0-0 5; Quinn Howard 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Yeck 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 11-15 86. Messiah....................... 40 37 - 77 York (Pa.).................... 47 39 - 86 3-point goals-Messiah 12-21 (Steve King 3-4; Jared Yoder 3-3; Matt Henninger 2-4; Zach Wiernicki 2-3; Drew Sneeringer 1-1; Quinn Mccullough 1-6), York (Pa.) 7-16 (Kenny Fass 3-4; Brandon Bushey 2-4; Brad Zerfing 1-2; Nate Fry 1-2; Paddy Lee 0-2; Chad McGowan 0-2). Fouled out--Messiah-Quinn Mccullough, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Messiah 35 (Zach Wiernicki 9; Jared Yoder 9), York (Pa.) 36 (Chad McGowan 11). Assists-Messiah 21 (Zach Wiernicki 6), York (Pa.) 23 (Joe Yeck 6). Total fouls-Messiah 17, York (Pa.) 12. A-540 SIXTH ANNUAL COACHES VS. CANCER CLASSIC The Spartans record their 24th straight win at Wolf Gym. York returns to action on Wednesday when they host Marymount University in a CAC contest. Tip time is set for 8:00 pm. Lincoln vs Lebanon Valley 1/7/06 1:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA LEBANON VALLEY 82, LINCOLN 80 LINCOLN (14-4) Kyle Myrick 11-26 2-2 24; Sami Wylie 6-15 1-2 18; Tyreek Byard 6-12 0-0 12; Darryl White 4-10 3-6 11; Bryant Leach 3-10 1-2 9; Thomas Hickson 1-2 1-2 3; Maurice Wood 1-1 1-2 3; Garrick Wooten 0-0 0-0 0; Anthony Morrison 0-2 0-0 0; Vincent Carter-Bey 0-1 0-0 0; Gerard Corinealdi 0-1 0-0 0; Troy London 0-1 0-0 0; Steven Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-81 9-16 80. LEBANON VALLEY (6-7) Dan Hodge 7-10 1-4 20; Jimmy Curran 5-13 4-5 15; Dave Kasyan 6-15 1-1 14; H. Bretschneider 5-11 0-0 12; Kyle Enoch 4-8 0-0 8; Dan Hogan 3-6 1-2 7; Eric Humphrey 2-3 0-0 4; Luke Foster 1-1 0-0 2; Peter Ruth 0-1 0-0 0; Brian Wolensky 0-0 0-0 0; Dustin Kerns 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-69 7-12 82. Lincoln....................... 38 42 - 80 Lebanon Valley................ 36 46 - 82 3-point goals-Lincoln 7-24 (Sami Wylie 5-11; Bryant Leach 2-7; Anthony Morrison 0-2; Gerard Corinealdi 0-1; Troy London 0-1; Kyle Myrick 0-2), Lebanon Valley 9-22 (Dan Hodge 5-7; H. Bretschneider 2-5; Dave Kasyan 1-3; Jimmy Curran 1-3; Eric Humphrey 0-1; Kyle Enoch 0-3). Fouled out--Lincoln-Darryl White, Lebanon Valley-None. Rebounds-Lincoln 49 (Darryl White 12), Lebanon Valley 41 (Dan Hogan 10). Assists-Lincoln 16 (Kyle Myrick 8), Lebanon Valley 20 (Jimmy Curran 6). Total fouls-Lincoln 15, Lebanon Valley 11. A-215 SIXTH ANNUAL COACHES VS. CANCER CLASSIC Lebanon Valley head coach Brad McAlester posts his 200th career victory over the #21 Lincoln Lions. LVC hosts Moravian on January 11 while Lincoln hosts Newport News Apprentice on January 11.