YORK, Pa. – With the No. 3 seed locked up in the conference playoffs for the men's basketball team, the squad closed out their regular season with a surging second half against York College of Pennsylvania but were handed a loss at 75-72 on Saturday afternoon.
Inside the Box Score
Kullen Robinson (Alexandria, Va./Alexandria City) earned a double-double via 18 points and 10 rebounds on the day.
Jack Fricka (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) pulled 10 rebounds and scored seven with three assists.
Jevon Yarbrough (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) scored 10 and hit all six of his attempts at the foul line.
How it Happened
Jayden Rowe of the Spartans stole the show in the first half and hit the Blazers where it hurt via the deep ball. The likes of Kai Cipalla and Jackson Mascari were kept in check with the defense of
Garrett Cox (Glen Allen, VA/Glen Allen) playing tight at the foul line.
The Blazers shot 31 percent and were lacking the heavy contributor that they were used to having to be the catalyst of the offensive explosion.
Early in the second half, fouls stopped the flow of the game for the Spartans. Defending the Blazers up top they earned a defensive foul on Cox and on the other end a foul by the Blazers had stopped the rhythm seconds in.
The emergence of Robinson in the second half led the charge for the Blazers, working the paint that Hood has owned all season. His ability to establish his way to its core and have multiple ways to score, like the spin away from the basket at the 52-42 score or later down the stretch where he spun towards the basket to get the bucket to fall.
The high scoring of the previous matchup was long behind as the Spartans took 40 shots from deep and only 3-of-17 in the second half. With only eight baskets made in the second half, it gave way for the Blazers to outscore its opponent in the second half.
With 10 minutes to go, a timely Fricka basket and a
Garrison Linton (New Market, Md./Oakdale) steal led to a
Will Spencer (Davidsonville, Md./Boys' Latin School) three pointer that made this game reachable for the first time.
Hood would take the lead with a
Karron Mallory (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) bucket, then with the shot clock winding down Mallory was found outside the arc and his try landing down and in. Unfortunately, he had received the ball so late into the shot clock that his shot was deemed not off before the buzzer and no good.
A Hood turnover was turned into a fast break bucket by York's Chris Miers and Hood trailed by one with just over a minute to go.
If it was via the paint or the long ball, it didn't matter as they couldn't convert and fell in round two against the Spartans.
"Not sure if we were flat to start the game due to the fact we were already locked into the No. 3 seed or what," said head coach
Chad Dickman. "But that was an ugly first half."
"Thought our guys really picked it up and played with intensity and purpose in the second half, and I'm proud of the way that fight to get back into the game and take the lead. But, if you gotta battle back from 20 down against a really good team, it's gonna be hard to finish it off. So, we just can't put ourselves in that position again."
"I'm excited about getting another shot at them Wednesday in the semifinals. If we can play with the effort and focus we played with in the second half tonight for the entire game, we'll be playing for a championship on Saturday."
For the Opponent
Jayden Rowe hit five threes to put his total at 16 on the day.
Kai Cipalla has a modest 11 points with six boards.
Analysis
The Spartans shot almost 52 percent in the first half versus 30 percent in the second half.
Hood made 5-of-23 attempts from three-point land.
The Blazers outrebounded 27-14 in the second half, Robinson had nine rebounds of his double-double in the second.
Up Next
The Blazers will head to postseason play in the MAC Semifinals and challenge York in a rematch on the road in York, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, February 26 with tip-off at 7 p.m.. Follow back on hoodathletics.com for updates on the tournament.
ADMISSION - Prices are subject to change
Adults - $8
Seniors (65+) - $6
Youth (7-17) - $6
MAC Students w/ ID - Free
6 and under w/ adult - Free
