YORK, Pa.--Junior Jesse Gutekunst scored a game-high 27 points
and grabbed 14 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season to
lead the Hood College men's basketball team to a dramatic 78-71
Capital Athletic Conference triumph over the York College Spartans
Thursday at the Grumbacher Center.
Hood (18-6, 11-4 CAC) completed the season sweep over the
Spartans (16-9, 11-6 CAC) and remain in first place in the CAC
standings.
The Blazers got off to a torrid start and led by as many as 19
in the first half. Hood shot a sparkling 51.5 percent from the
field making 17-of-33 from the floor for 44 first-half points, its
largest output in the opening stanza this season. Hood took a 44-29
advantage into the locker room.
Sophomore Ryan Junghans buried all four of his three-point tries
and assisted on five Hood buckets in the first 20 minutes.
York, which also leads the conference in three-point field goal
percentage, misfired on its first eight attempts from long range
and finished 1-for-10 from distance in the first half.
But York wouldn't go away in the second half. The Spartans
closed to within 50-39 on a three-pointer by Nate Lankford but the
Blazers ripped off nine straight points to go up 59-39, forcing
York to call timeout with 15:27 to play.
Hood enjoyed its largest lead of the game, 63-42, with 13:45
left in regulation. But the Spartans rallied from the 21-point
deficit to close to within eight (65-57). York outscored Hood 15-2
and held the Blazers scoreless for over four minutes.
The Spartans whittled the margin to four with 1:39 to play on a
pair of free throws by Chad McGowan. The Blazers managed just one
field goal in the final 5:12 of the contest but connected on 5-of-7
from the foul line to clinch the victory.
Gutekunst hit 10-of-14 from the field including all six of his
foul shots. Sophomore Tim Abercrombie tied his season-high with 18
points while Junghans also finished with 18 points.
Lankford and Kelley registered 14 points apiece, but the Blazers
neutralized the CAC's leading scorer, McGowan, to just 11 points on
4-of-12 shooting. McGowan owns a 22.4 scoring average on the season
and poured in 27 points in the last meeting between these two
squads in January.
The Blazers close out the regular season Saturday hosting
Salisbury University at 2 p.m. at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.
Hood will also honor its three seniors, Darnell Edmonds, Justin
Junghans and Sean Robine, before the tilt.
