JAMAICA, NY  --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College men's basketball held a +8 second-half scoring advantage but were unable to push past the Gwynedd Mercy University Griffins (7-2), falling 72-69 in the York Invitational consolation game Saturday afternoon inside York College Gymnasium.  Purchase College (5-4) followed in the championship game to claim the title with an 88-85 victory over the SUNY Potsdam Bears (6-3).

Devine Chisholm represented York on the All-Invitational Team after producing 41 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds in two games. 

All-Invitational Team (*MVP)
Devine Chisholm (York)
Danny Delsol-Lowry (SUNY Potsdam)
Elijah Lott* (Purchase)
Maxx Miller (Purchase)
Nathaniel Walker (Gwynedd Mercy)

Donald Hartley, Jr. broke the scoring ice with a layup 1:05 in for York's largest lead of the game, 2-0.  Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes before the Griffins manufactured an 11-2 run to go up by eight (17-9) at the 15:16 mark.  Moments later, Akil Vaughn converted a 3-point play to pull York within three (17-14). Gwynedd Mercy then scored 10-unanswered points to build a game-high 13-point cushion (27-14) just under 10 minutes to go in the half.  The Cardinals got as close as six in the final 5:36 as the Griffins outscored York 11-6 to hold a 40-29 advantage at intermission.     

Gwynedd Mercy pushed its lead back up to 13 points (46-33) before York went on a 12-2 spurt to chop the deficit to three (48-45) with 13:03 showing on the second-half clock.  After Donald Hartley, Jr. sank a pair of free-throws to move the Cardinals within two (55-53), the Griffins used a 9-2 run to stretch their margin to nine (64-55) with 6:16 remaining.  York made a late charge with a 15-4 scoring burst as Chisholm's back-to-back layups evened the game at 61 with 20 seconds left. Gwynedd Mercy knocked down 3-of-4 from the line in final four seconds and twice denied the Cardinals entry on their inbound pass in the closing seconds to seal the win.  

Jaye Bookhart led all scorers with 18 points (8-of-15 FG) while Chisholm went for 16 points (6-of-13 FG) and seven assists to pace York.  Hartley, Jr. added 16 points and Vaughn chipped in with game highs of 10 rebounds and three steals.  

Walker totaled 16 points (7-of-9 FG) and Manny Clark scored 10 for Gwynedd Mercy.

In the end, York shot 45.8 percent from the field (27-of-59), 29.2 percent from 3-point range (7-of-24) and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line (8-of-13) as Gwynedd Mercy sank 40.3 percent from the floor (29-of-72), 34.8 percent from deep (8-of-23) and 60 percent from the charity stripe (6-of-10).  The Griffins owned a +2 rebounding edge (41-39) and scored 15 second-chance points off 16 offensive boards. York finished with the advantage in assists (17-13) and blocks (2-1). 

The Cardinals (3-7) return to the court Tuesday (Dec. 17) for a non-conference showdown with the Manhattanville College Valiants (4-2) at 7 p.m. inside York College Gymnasium. 

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