Spartans advance to NCAA Final Four
Posted March 14, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The
York College men’s basketball squad earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Final Four on Saturday night as the Spartans posted a 70-58 victory over
Kings College in
Mawah, N.J. The green and white, winners of a school-record 14 straight games, improve to a school-record 28-2. Kings has their stellar campaign come to an end with a mark of 24-6.
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 York College used an 11-1 spurt to push the advantage to 12 with
8:13 left. The run was capped by a Joe Yeck,
Gettysburg, Pa., three and the green and white’s lead would not fall below double figures the rest of the way. The
York College 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 face the defending Division III National Champion, Wisconsin Stevens-Point, at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18, in the second national semifinal. Calvin and Rochester begin the evening with the 6:00 p.m. semifinal. The two winners face off for the 2005 Division III national championship at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. The championship game will be preceded by the national consolation game at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s tournament will be available on a staggered schedule. On Monday, March 14, the advance sale will be for team members’ families, York College students, York College faculty, and York College staff only. On Tuesday, March 15, tickets go on sale to the general public starting at 10:00 a.m. York College will continue to sell tickets until their allotment is sold out.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and children. The admission fee allows the ticket holder to attend all four of the games during the championship weekend.
A fan bus will travel to the Final Four tournament and will leave Friday with the return trip after Saturday’s game. The individual rider will need to make hotel accommodations. York College will provide the information about the hotels in the Salem area, but will not be responsible for booking individual accommodations.
Tickets and bus receipts can be purchased at the Athletics office in room 201 of the Iosue Student Union Building. For more information, call (717) 815-1780.
For further coverage of the round of 8 game action and detailed box score, visit the Sports Information homepage at www.ycp.edu/sports.
NCAA Division III Final Four
March 18 @ Salem, Va.
Calvin vs. Rochester - 6:00 p.m.
York (Pa.) vs. UW-Stevens Point - 8:00 p.m.
March 19 @ Salem, Va.
National Consolation Game - 2:30 p.m.
National Championship Game - 5:00 p.m.
