York College

Box Score

JAMAICA, NY— York College junior forward William Holley scored a game-high 24 points, collected 11 rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the Cardinals men's basketball team to a 70-53 victory over Hunter College in the 2010-11 regular-season finale Monday night. 

With the win, York (9-16, 7-6 CUNYAC) secures a fifth seed in next weekend's CUNY Athletic Conference Tournament.  York will visit rival Brooklyn College in the opening round on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  It will be the third time the two teams have met this season, with the Bulldogs winning the two previous contests by a narrow margin. 

The key to the win was the strong defensive play of the Cardinals.  Hunter (12-13, 7-6 CUNYAC) was held to just 28 percent shooting on the night.  The Cardinals also dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Hawks 51-38.

For the second straight game, York got off to a sluggish start, not scoring until the 17:56 mark of the first half, when David Simon drained a three-pointer to make it 3-3.  York picked up its play from there and held a seven-point cushion (16-9) following a made jumper by Holley with 11:41 to go in the opening half.   The Cardinals maintained the lead throughout the first half and went into halftime with a 30-22 lead. 

In the second half, Hunter could never get within single digits after York opened the half with a 9-2 run (39-24).  The Cardinals cruised to the finish line from there.

Also contributing for York was Marcel Esonwune, who finished with 15 points, nine boards and three blocks.  Simon finished with 12 points, with nine of them coming courtesy of the three-pointer.  The Hawks were led by Mark Courtien who finished with a team-high 14 points.