Late Rally Falls Short Against Ramapo
BOX SCORE
JAMAICA, NY— Trailing by 11 points with just 2:10 to play, the York College men's basketball team started a furious rally and had a chance to tie the game on its final possession but came up short, as they fell to Ramapo College 68-65 in non-conference action on Wednesday night.
Things looked bleak for York, as they trailed 66-55 at around the two-minute mark. A three-pointer by
Kevin Lausell at 1:15 started the rally and made the score 67-60. York then forced a turnover and then picked up a foul on the next possession.
Tony Vails drained both free throws to make it a five-point game. With the Cardinals pressing, York managed to force another turnover and was fouled once again. This time, Philippe Gregoire made one of two, to make the score 67-63 with 38 seconds remaining.
For the third straight possession, Ramapo could not beat York's press and turned the ball over again. Vails was fouled on the ensuing York possession and connected on both free throws to make it a two-point game (67-65) with 10 seconds left.
York was forced to foul its next possession. Ramapo's Patrick O'Connell hit the first to make it a three-point game but missed the second and York grabbed the rebound. However, the Cardinals were out of time outs so they did not have an opportunity to set up a play on their final shot. York rushed the ball up court with nine seconds remaining but tight defense forced York's
Michael Trowers to take a desperation three-pointer just as time expired. The shot came up well short and Ramapo held on for the win.
Early on, it appeared as if there would be no comeback needed in the game. The Cardinals got off to a hot start, jumping out a 13-point cushion (19-6) at the 12:59 mark of the first half. However, Ramapo slowly got back into the game. They closed to within in eight points at halftime (36-24).
York (2-9) really struggled shooting in the second half, thanks in large part some foul trouble on a number of players, which forced the Cardinals to go to their bench early in the half. Ramapo would tie the game at the 16:03 mark and went up for good with just under 11 minutes to play.
Despite the loss, Vails scored a game-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds.
Omari Phipps added ten points and nine boards. Ramapo (6-2) was led by Will Sanborn, who had 18 points, eight boards and five assists. Stephon Treadwell chipped in 14 points and nine boards.
York will be idle until December 29, when they visit Old Westbury at 2:00 p.m.
