PURCHASE, N.Y.— The York College men's basketball team nearly rallied from a 22-point second-half deficit but came up short against Widener University by a score of 67-59 on Friday night.
 
The Cardinals, who are playing in the A.J. Buchanan Classic at Manhattanville College, will now play in the consolation game tomorrow at 2 p.m. against either Southern Virginia University or Manhattanville College.
 
Anthony Mason had a big night off the bench to lead York, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Ryan St. John added 11 points and Ryan Smart had 10 points and five assists.  Widener was led by Sardayah Sambo and David Nicholson, who each scored 20 points.
 
The Cardinals had an early 6-2 lead but saw that lead evaporate quickly when an 18-6 Widener run put York in a 36-22 deficit shortly before halftime.  Widener continued to pour it on early in the second half and went up by 22 after a Sambo dunk with 15:14 to go. 
 
The Cardinals still trailed by 15 with 7:55 to go.  However, York scored on four straight possessions and six out of seven to cut the deficit to 63-57. Mason, Sasha Clarida and Jason Whea all hit threes and Smart had a three-point play in the stretch.  But York went cold from there, scoring only one more bucket the rest of the way.
 
The Cardinals drop to 1-3 on the season, while Widener improves to 2-2. Live stats and video will be available for tomorrow's consolation game at yorkathletics.com/coverage