Three Pointers Rain Down in York’s Win over William Paterson
BOX SCORE
JAMAICA, NY— The York College men's basketball team connected on 14 three-pointers including several down the stretch and won a thrilling contest over William Paterson University by a score of 69-64 in a non-conference contest at the York College Gym on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first time the Cardinals have beaten William Paterson since the 2006-07 season and the 14 three pointers were the most the Cardinals have hit in a game since the 90s.
Michael Trowers and
Tony Vails were responsible for five of those and
Donald Rodriguez made one in a clutch spot in the final minute of play to lead York to victory.
The Cardinals strong outside shooting started early in the game. A pair of three pointers by Trowers and another by Vails gave York an early 9-7 lead. Later, Vails and Trowers followed with a three-pointer each once again to put York up by seven, 21-14, with 9:22 to play in the half. York followed with another three, this time by
DaShawn Bobbitt and then a three-point play by Vails to make it 27-16 with 6:41 left in the opening half.
York went on a cold stretch late in the first half though and William Paterson got back into the game. A lay-up by Terik Bridgeman capped off a 13-1 run to put the Pioneers on top, 29-28, with 1:12 to play. The score would remain the same going into the locker room.
William Paterson took that momentum out of the locker room and opened the second half with a 10-3 run to make it 38-31. Terik Bridgeman was key during the stretch, scoring six points, including two off an alley-oop dunk. The Pioneers extended its lead to 42-33 following a Bright Mensah lay-up with 14:56 to play. But Vails helped York get back into the game as he connected from long range on three consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to five points (47-42).
Once again, York hit a bit of a cold stretch, scoring just two points over a four minute span and the Pioneers were able to push their lead to 57-47 following a three-pointer by Rick Destefano with 7:29 to play.
But York picked it up from there and closed to within three after a 7-0 run—which saw Bobbit score five points—made it 57-54 with 6:19 left. The Cardinals closed to within one point (57-56) but a technical foul on York following the bucket resulted in four more points for William Paterson.
But once again the Cardinals battled back and this time took the lead when Trowers made two straight three-pointers to put York on top, 62-61, with 2:05 to go. After the Pioneers tied the game with a free throw, York came down the court and got another three-pointer, this time from Rodriguez to put the Cardinals up 65-62 with 29.5 to play. Rodriguez then helped seal the game when he stole the ball on the next Pioneer possession and drove for lay-up to give York a five-point lead.
Vails was once again York's leading scorer, netting 25 points, while dishing out six assists and nabbing four steals. He extended his streak of scoring at least 20 points to nine games. Trowers finished with a career-high 20 points and Rodriguez added seven points and five boards.
William Paterson was led by Bridgeman who finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Mensah added 15 points and seven boards.
York improves to 5-4 with the win, while William Paterson drops to 4-4. The Cardinals will visit Baruch College on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
