The Spartans and Cardinals were both cold to start the game as the green and white went 1-for-9 to open the game while the Cardinals were an equally chilly 2-for-8. The Spartans got rolling with back-to-back threes from Brad Zerfing and Nate Fry as the green and white held an 8-6 lead with 12:28 remaining in the half. The Cardinals tied the game at 10 and the game was tied again at 12 before the Spartans went on a 15-7 spurt to take a 27-17 lead with 4:13 left. After Jeffrey Boone cut the lead to eight with a lay-up, the green and white scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to take a 36-21 lead to the intermission.
The green and white continued to build on the momentum as they began the second half with an 18-4 run to push the lead to a game-high of 29 at 54-25. The Cardinals continued to battle the green and white but the Spartans were able to maintain their lead in the 20’s. York (NY) used a furious run to cut the Spartan lead to 16 with 3:38 remaining in the game. The Spartans received jumper from Fry and a pair of free throws from Zerfing to push the lead back to 20. The Cardinals cut the lead back to 16 two more times in the game before the Spartans finished with the 20-point win.
The green and white received a game-high 19 points from first-team All-CAC forward Chad McGowan. The sophomore added six rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. McGowan was 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Senior Brian Singer recorded 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds while he also had two assists and two blocked shots. Singer was 7-for-12 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe. Zerfing and Fry each contributed 12 points. Fry dished out four assists, grabbed two rebounds, and recorded a blocked shot. Zerfing handed out three dimes and grabbed three caroms. Senior Paddy Lee had another all-around game with six assists, no turnovers, five rebounds, three steals, two points, and two blocked shots.
The Cardinals were led by Shayne Smith and Kwesi Liverpool as they each tallied 13 points. Liverpool added six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Boone recorded eight points, eight rebounds, and two assists for the Cardinals. Reyaad Mohamed banged home three triples for nine points for York (NY).
The Spartans finished the game shooting 50.8% for the game including 31.6% from three. The Cardinals converted 44.1% from the floor and 37.5% from three. York was sizzling from the free throw line as York nailed 19-of-21 from the line, good for a 90.5% shooting percentage.
The Spartans outscored the Cardinals 44-32 in the paint while the green and white turned 18 Cardinal turnovers into 19 points.
In the first semifinal game, Widener (22-5) jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. The Catholic Cardinals cut the lead to 17-16 with 12:15 remaining but Widener scored the next 10 points to lead by 11 with 9:05 left. Catholic held the Pioneers to just three points over the last nine minutes of the half while the Cardinals scored 10 to head into the break trailing 30-26.
The second half was a classic battle with neither team leading by more than seven in the half. Catholic tied the team at 42 and took their first lead on a Pat Satalin three with 9:17 remaining in the game. The game would go back and forth over the next five minutes with no more than three points separating the two squads. John Mish converted a three point play for Catholic,giving them their final lead at 53-52 with 4:35 left. Widener scored nine of the game’s next ten points to seize a 61-54 lead. The Pioneers would not score the remainder of the game but Catholic would not be able to get the tying points as they fell just short.
Senior standout Kris Clarkson led all scorers with 22 points while he pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Clarkson added four blocks, two steals, and two assists in 29 minutes of action. Malcolm Thomas added 15 points, two steals, and two assists to the Pioneer attack. Brook Tidswell chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds for Widener.
Catholic (21-7) received a team-high 19 points from Shane Sowden in his final collegiate game. Sowden added six rebounds and four blocked shots. Satalin was the other Cardinal in double figures with 13 points including a trio of triples. Mish led the Cardinal efforts on the glass with 10 rebounds.
The last time the Spartans and Pioneers tangled resulted in a 67-65 York College victory in the championship game of the 19th Annual White Rose City Classic on January 4, 2004.
York (N.Y.) vs York (Pa.) 3/3/06 8:00 PM at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA YORK (PA.) 87, YORK (N.Y.) 67 YORK (N.Y.) (15-13) Shayne Smith 4-11 4-4 13; Kwesi Liverpool 6-10 1-5 13; Reyaad Mohamed 3-5 0-0 9; Teron Simpson 3-4 1-1 8; Jeffrey Boone 3-10 2-4 8; Chris Roberts 2-5 1-1 5; Jonathan Christian 2-6 0-0 4; Jonathan Winns 1-3 0-0 3; Aaron Wilson 1-3 0-0 2; Francis Ainoo 1-2 0-0 2; Donovan Davey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 9-15 67. YORK (PA.) (25-3) Chad McGowan 8-12 3-3 19; Brian Singer 7-12 4-4 18; Brad Zerfing 4-8 2-2 12; Nate Fry 4-7 2-2 12; Kenny Fass 3-5 1-2 8; Brandon Bushey 3-10 0-0 7; Joe Yeck 0-1 3-4 3; Mike Riley 1-1 0-0 2; Chris Folland 1-1 0-0 2; Paddy Lee 0-3 2-2 2; Pat Kelley 0-0 2-2 2; Quinn Howard 0-1 0-0 0; Shane Beccio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 19-21 87. York (N.Y.)................... 21 46 - 67 York (Pa.).................... 36 51 - 87 3-point goals-York (N.Y.) 6-16 (Reyaad Mohamed 3-4; Shayne Smith 1-3; Teron Simpson 1-2; Jonathan Winns 1-3; Aaron Wilson 0-1; Francis Ainoo 0-1; Jeffrey Boone 0-2), York (Pa.) 6-19 (Brad Zerfing 2-5; Nate Fry 2-4; Kenny Fass 1-3; Brandon Bushey 1-5; Joe Yeck 0-1; Chad McGowan 0-1). Fouled out--York (N.Y.)-Chris Roberts, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-York (N.Y.) 31 (Jeffrey Boone 8), York (Pa.) 36 (Brian Singer 8). Assists-York (N.Y.) 13 (Kwesi Liverpool 6), York (Pa.) 24 (Paddy Lee 6). Total fouls-York (N.Y.) 17, York (Pa.) 14. A-945 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND GAME The Spartans advance to face Widener in the regional championship game on Saturday at 7:00 pm. The winner of that game advances to the Sweet 16. Catholic vs Widener 3/3/06 6:00 pm at Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gym - York, PA WIDENER 61, CATHOLIC 59 CATHOLIC (21-7) Shane Sowden 7-10 5-8 19; Pat Satalin 4-14 2-2 13; Scott Fumai 3-10 0-0 8; Patrick Dwyer 2-9 3-4 7; Mike Wasilenko 3-4 0-0 7; John Mish 2-4 1-1 5; Stephen Wheeler 0-0 0-0 0; Sean Stolzenthaler 0-1 0-0 0; Steven Papageorge 0-3 0-0 0; Aaron Kelly 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Spierenburg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 11-15 59. WIDENER (22-5) Kris Clarkson 10-23 2-3 22; Malcolm Thomas 7-14 0-1 15; Brook Tidswell 3-8 1-2 7; Brandon Blakey 2-4 0-0 6; Essien Ford 2-9 0-0 5; Ron Michael 2-4 0-1 4; Wyatt Haas 1-2 0-0 2; Terry Smith 0-1 0-0 0; Nyere Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 3-7 61. Catholic...................... 26 33 - 59 Widener....................... 30 31 - 61 3-point goals-Catholic 6-21 (Pat Satalin 3-10; Scott Fumai 2-5; Mike Wasilenko 1-2; Sean Stolzenthaler 0-1; Steven Papageorge 0-2; Patrick Dwyer 0-1), Widener 4-7 (Brandon Blakey 2-3; Malcolm Thomas 1-2; Essien Ford 1-2). Fouled out--Catholic-Shane Sowden, Widener-None. Rebounds-Catholic 38 (John Mish 10), Widener 39 (Kris Clarkson 12). Assists-Catholic 15 (Mike Wasilenko 9), Widener 11 (Brandon Blakey 3). Total fouls-Catholic 13, Widener 15. A-945 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND GAME Widener advances to Saturday's regional final against the York (Pa.)/York (NY) winner. Game time is 7:00 pm.