The contest saw the Capital Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, St. Mary’s Tyson Lesesne, miss the contest due to an injury and that turned what could have been a great matchup into a mismatch. Lesesne has been lighting it up for the Seahawks as he is averaging 23.5 points per game while he also leads the league in minutes played.
Without their standout guard, the Seahawks decided to slow down the tempo and limit the possessions in the game. Their strategy work initially as they led 8-7 just over four minutes into the game. The Spartan defense awoke, and as a result, the green and white ripped off a 14-2 spurt to take a 21-10 lead with 11:14 left in the half. The Seahawks cut the lead to eight on a Valdez Preston three at the 7:36 mark but York went on an 11-1 run to push the lead to 18 with just over a minute left in the half. The Seahawks scored the final bucket of the half but the green and white took a 37-21 lead to the intermission.
St. Mary’s began the half with a quick 5-0 spurt to trim the lead to 11 but the green and white fashioned an impressive 22-1, six minute run that ballooned the lead to 59-27 with 12:17 remaining in the game. The run was highlighted by six Spartan three pointers as the green and white used deft passing to riddle the St. Mary’s zone defense. Senior Kenny Fass hit four of his career-high five threes in the run while fellow senior sharpshooter Brandon Bushey chipped in with a pair of triples.
The Spartan lead grew to as many as 34 points twice before York settled for the 30 point victory.
Three Spartans reached double figures led by Bushey as he notched 16 points, five rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot. Bushey was 6-for-9 from the floor including 4-for-6 from three. Fass added 15 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists as he continues to be one of the most under-rated players in the CAC. Fass was 5-for-9 from the floor with all nine of his field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. Sophomore Chad McGowan was the third Spartan in double figures with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot. Junior Brad Zerfing had a solid game with eight points, five assists, five rebounds and just one turnover in 20 minutes of work. Freshman Nate Fry contributed nine points and a career-high six assists to the Spartan attack.
Dan Engelstad led the Seahawks with 13 points while he also had four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Tommy Bushell added nine points and seven rebounds while T.J. Jordan contributed seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 53.3% from the floor and 44.8% from three. St. Mary’s converted 36.2% of their attempts from the floor while they made 4-of-16 (25%) from distance. York held a 41-33 edge on the glass and dished out 23 assists on their 32 field goals as the passing, teamed with the sharp perimeter shooting of the Spartans, made defending the green and white a difficult proposition for the guests. The York bench outscored the St. Mary’s reserves 35-13 while the Spartans also had a 24-10 edge in second chance points for the game.
The Spartans take to the road on Wednesday when they travel to Catholic University to face the Catholic Cardinals in a key conference match up. Wednesday’s game is set to tip at 8:00 pm at the DuFour Center in Washington, DC.
St. Mary's (Md.) vs York (Pa.) 1/14/06 2:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA YORK (PA.) 86, ST. MARY'S (MD.) 56 ST. MARY'S (MD.) (6-8, 1-3 CAC) Dan Engelstad 5-10 3-5 13; Tommy Bushell 4-10 1-1 9; Calvin Wise 3-8 2-6 8; T.J. Jordan 3-12 0-2 7; Valdez Preston 2-8 0-0 6; Dino Vilson 0-1 4-4 4; Ryan Carr 2-5 0-0 4; Kyle Sullivan 1-3 0-0 3; Thomas Cosgrove 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-58 10-18 56. YORK (PA.) (13-1, 3-1 CAC) Brandon Bushey 6-9 0-0 16; Kenny Fass 5-9 0-0 15; Chad McGowan 4-8 2-2 10; Nate Fry 4-7 0-0 9; Brad Zerfing 3-4 1-2 8; Joe Yeck 2-3 3-3 8; Brian Singer 2-3 2-3 6; Shane Beccio 2-2 1-2 6; Chris Folland 2-4 0-2 4; Paddy Lee 1-3 0-0 2; Quinn Howard 1-3 0-0 2; Pat Kelley 0-1 0-0 0; Pat D'Arcy 0-2 0-0 0; Mike Riley 0-1 0-0 0; Evan Bradlee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-60 9-14 86. St. Mary's (Md.).............. 21 35 - 56 York (Pa.).................... 37 49 - 86 3-point goals-St. Mary's (Md.) 4-16 (Valdez Preston 2-5; T.J. Jordan 1-4; Kyle Sullivan 1-2; Dino Vilson 0-1; Ryan Carr 0-3; Dan Engelstad 0-1), York (Pa.) 13-29 (Kenny Fass 5-9; Brandon Bushey 4-6; Nate Fry 1-4; Shane Beccio 1-1; Joe Yeck 1-2; Brad Zerfing 1-2; Pat D'Arcy 0-2; Mike Riley 0-1; Quinn Howard 0-1; Chad McGowan 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's (Md.)-None, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-St. Mary's (Md.) 33 (T.J. Jordan 7; Tommy Bushell 7), York (Pa.) 41 (Chad McGowan 5; Brandon Bushey 5; Brad Zerfing 5). Assists-St. Mary's (Md.) 11 (Dan Engelstad 3), York (Pa.) 23 (Nate Fry 6). Total fouls-St. Mary's (Md.) 14, York (Pa.) 17. A-790 The Spartans win their 26th straight at Wolf Gym. York concludes its season high seven game home stand with their eighth straight win. York returns to action on Wednesday as they travel to Catholic for a CAC game. Tip time in Washington is set for 8:00 pm.