York Earns 83-79 Win over Christopher Newport
Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, VA— Michael Salamanca (Hollis, NY/ Cardozo) scored 20 points and dished out a season-high eight assists to lead the York College men’s basketball team to an 83-79 win over Christopher Newport University (CNU) at the 22nd Annual Christopher Newport Invitational on Friday evening.
York featured a balanced attack with four players in double figures as they went on to defeat CNU for the second straight year. Freshman Marcel Esonwune (Nigeria/ Marist Brothers) netted 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Rodney Bennett (Corona, NY/ Chaparral) added 15 points and brought down seven rebounds. Senior Chris Roberts (Jamaica, NY/ Springfield Gardens) also added 12 points and six boards for York.
The Cardinals dominated the inside game as they outrebounded the Captains 38-28 en route to 13 second chance points. York also outscored CNU 44-28 in the paint. In addition, the Cardinals bench played a major role as they outscored the CNU bench 38-16.
The game was tight in the early-going with each team exchanging leads for the first ten minutes. However, with the scored tied 22-22 with 9:54 before halftime, York went on a 7-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Esonwune had four points and a block during the run. The Cardinals went into the locker room with a 44-36 advantage.
In the second half, York would extend their lead to as many as 13 points, 49-36, before the Captains cut into the advantage. CNU reduced the lead to four points on three different occasions but York was able to hold on for the victory.
York improves to 2-2 and will take on Greensboro tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Christopher Newport Invitational.
