Balanced Scoring Attack Helps York Hold off Utica, 83-79
BOX SCORE
ROCHESTER, NY—Four players reached double figures in points as the Cardinals held off Utica College in the consolation game of the Harold J. Brodie Memorial Tournament held at Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon.
Omari Phipps had a team-high 19 points, grabbed 14 boards, blocked three shots and handed out five assists to lead York to the win.
Tony Vails also added 19 points, while
Mark Evans netted 15 points and
Shamir Wilkinson scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Utica had the advantage in the first half, as they jumped out a ten-point cushion following a 10-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Matt Baldwin. The run made the score 28-18 with 3:31 to play in the half. The Cardinals were able to cut the deficit in half thanks to the play of
Tony Vails, who converted a three-point play and later hit a lay-up in the final minute to make the score 28-23 going into the locker room.
Utica continued to hold on to the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but York took the lead after a
Mark Evans three-pointer capped an 8-2 run to make the score 44-42 with 13:59 to play.
The two teams went back-and-forth over the next ten minutes, exchanging leads until the 3:19 mark when the Cardinals took the lead for good. A jumper by Vails put York up 69-68, and after a defensive stop, Chris Atkinson connected from long range to put York up by four points. York got two more defensive stops in a row and were able to make a free throw on the next possession and a jumper on the possession after that. That sequence put York up 75-68 with 1:05 to play.
Utica was forced to foul on each York possession in the final minutes and managed to make it interesting. A three-pointer by Baldwin made the score 82-79 with four seconds to go. However, after a Utica foul, only one second remained and Vails made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game and seal the victory. York guard
Du'Quan Lawson was key in the final minute of play as well, as he went 5-6 from the charity stripe.
Baldwin scored a game-high 26 points in the loss, while Reggie German had 14 points, as Utica fell to 3-5. York improved to 2-8 with the win.
The Cardinals will host Ramapo College on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.
