FREDERICK, Md. – After honoring their four seniors before the game, the Hood College men's basketball team then sent those same seniors out and put on a show for the home crowd, surging past Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent York 72-59 in the final game of the regular season. The win also eliminated the Spartans from playoff contention, with Alvernia locking up the No. 4 seed.
Inside the Box Score
Hometown star
Trumaine Strickland (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) led the Blazers with 13 points.
Justin Gielen (Edgewater, Md./DeMatha) and
Ryan Hollwedel (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) both ended the afternoon with 11 points.
Jack Fricka (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) came down with a team-leading seven rebounds.
Garrison Linton (New Market, Md./Oakdale) finished with five assists and totaled nine points.
How it Happened
Both teams got off to a sluggish start, with the first basket of the game not coming until 2:20 in when Strickland got a pull-up jumper to fall.
Hood looked like they were going to start a rout after that, going up 6-0 in the first four and a half minutes, but York immediately answered with 12 straight points to flip the script and take their first lead of the game.
The Spartans held a 14-8 lead at the 10-minute mark, but the Blazers started to figure out the York defense, going on an 18-5 run over the next three minutes, quickly retaking the lead, keeping pace with the Spartans the rest of the way to hold a 33-27 lead at halftime.
York held the advantage coming out of the locker room, starting the second half off with a 9-5 run to cut Hood's lead to just 38-36.
That would be as close as the Blazers would let them get, outscoring the Spartans 20-8 over the next several minutes to take a 58-44 advantage with nine minutes left.
With a stretched lead, Hood simply kept pace offensively and took as long as possible during their possessions, making free throws when York began fouling to bring the regular season to a close with a 72-59 win.
For the Opponent
Kai Cipalla led the Spartans with 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Pat Gilhool totaled 12 points on the day.
Analysis
The Blazers shot 43 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range, with the Spartans shooting just 39 percent from the field and 23 percent from three-point range.
York had a 39-38 edge in rebounds.
The Blazers minimized turnovers, giving the ball up 10 times compared to 16 for the Spartans.
Notes
Hood finishes the regular season 18-5 (11-3) and advances to the MAC Commonwealth Championship tournament as the No. 2 seed, while York finishes their season 14-11 (7-7) and eliminated from postseason play.
"We fell into a rut defensively for a few games, but I think we've picked it back up these last few halves," said Head Coach
Chad Dickman when asked about preparing for the semifinal matchup next week "These guys know what's at stake, so I think we'll be ready to roll come Wednesday."
Up Next
The Blazers will host Eastern one last time this season in the MAC Commonwealth Championship semifinal Wednesday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
