OWINGS MILLS, MD --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College men's basketball took the court Saturday afternoon against the Notre Dame of Maryland University Gators (0-3), charging late to pick up a 73-72 win in the consolation game of the Stevenson University Tip-Off Classic inside Owings Mills Gymnasium.

"We are building and growing with each game. It's a process. Defense, defense! We are learning how to be a winning team. Today we were able to play strong in the last 3 minutes of the game. That's what championship teams need to do, close games."-said head coach Clarence Emengo

How it Happened

• Trading leads early on, after Olawale Kila dropped in a driving layup to pull York within one (14-13), Notre Dame scored six-straight points to build a 20-13 advantage with 11:08 left.
• York trailed by as many as 12 points (32-20) at the 5:38 mark until Abdul Seck's layup ignited an 18-2 Cardinal run to pull ahead, 38-34, with 1:30 showing on the clock. Kila, Seck and Aidony Nivar each scored six points during the scoring spree as York nailed 6-of-9 from the field while limiting the Gators to 1-of-7 shooting.  
• Notre Dame made a move with 37 seconds left when Jahbreco Dacosta threw down and a driving layup by Jackson Pugh with two seconds remaining pushed the Gators ahead with a slim 39-38 lead at intermission.
• A triple from Daraun Gray with 13:30 left in the game capped off a 13-4 run for the Gators, opening up a 52-42 advantage.
• Charging back, the Cardinals responded with a 16-4 burst of their own, as a jumper from Tafari Jerome with 7:17 showing on the clock put them up 58-56.
• Showing resolve, Jalen Yates connected on a triple to give Notre Dame a 68-63 edge at the 3:35 mark. 
• Jumpers from York's Tyres Desinor and Rohan Singh leveled the score at 68 and 70 respectively in the final two minutes. 
• Jerome's free throw gave the Cardinals a 71-70 lead with 32 seconds remaining. 
• The Gators raced down the floor to take a 72-71 edge after K'Won Johnson connected on a floater. 
• Executing out of a timeout, Kila scored on an isolation play with five minutes left to put York up 73-72.
• A missed mid range attempt from Jackson Pugh fell short at the buzzer, giving the Cardinals the victory.

Leading the Cardinals

• Kila produced his second double-double of the season (11th career) with game-highs of 22 points (8-of-13 FG, 6-of-8 FT) and 17 rebounds to go along with three steals, two assists and a block. 
• Jerome made his first-career start to contribute 12 points (5-of-13 FG), five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. 
• Singh stuffed the stat sheet with nine points (2-of-5 3FG), seven rebounds, six assists and one steal. 
• Nivar finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals. 
• Seck sparked York off the bench with eight points (4-of-6 FG), two assists and a steal. 
• Defending the rim, Micaiah Goosby swatted away two shots while Austinson Cooke rejected one. 

For Stevenson

• .Johnson scored a team-high 19 points (8-of-18 FG) and grabbed 13 rebounds. 
• Dacosta followed with 13 points (6-of-12 FG) and 15 rebounds. 
• Gray tallied 12 points (4-of-7 3FG) and Pugh added 11 points, five assists and two steals. 

Inside the Box Score
The Cardinals hit on 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from 3-point range and 61.9 percent (13-of21) from the free-throw line.  Notre Dame connected on 37.8 percent (28-of-74) from the floor, 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the stripe.  

York outplayed the Gators in assists (13-11), steals (9-8) and blocks (6-2).  Notre Dame held a +11 (47-36) rebounding edge that saw the Gators score 10 second-chance points off 16 offensive boards.  The Gators also converted York's 18 turnovers into 30 points. 

Up Next 
The Cardinals (1-3) return to home court Tuesday (Nov. 21) to take on the SUNY Maritime College Privateers (2-0) in a non-conference tilt at 7 p.m. inside York College Gymnasium.  

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