Memphis, TN – York College (PA) ran away from the Prairie Fire with a big second half in a 93-52 win at the Rhodes College Christmas Invitational.

The Spartans (4-6) owned a 7-0 lead 3:45 into the game.  Knox (1-10) came back with five consecutive points, the last three when senior Tyler Olson (Marengo, IA, Iowa Valley) converted a 3-point play after he was fouled on a layup and made the free throw, to trail 7-5 with 16:00 in the first half.

York used a 6-0 spurt to go up 13-5 with 13:31 to play in the opening stanza.  After the Prairie trimmed the Spartans’ lead to six on the next possession, York extended the advantage to double-figures at 17-7 with 11:45 to play.

Knox cut the deficit to seven at 19-12 on a 3-pointer by sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon), with 11:00 in the half.  York scored the next seven points in a 2:00 span for a 26-12 lead.  The Spartans added a trey after a Prairie Fire basket to take their biggest lead of the game at 29-14 at the 8:26 mark.

A 3-point bucket by Olson pulled Knox within a dozen at 29-17 on the next possession, but York followed with a 3-pointer to go reclaim the 15 point bulge, 32-17, with 7:31 in the half.

First-year Charlie Harned (Webster Groves, MO, Clayton) scored after a Murphy triple to cut the Spartans’ lead to 35-26, part of a 9-3 Knox run, with a little over 4:00 left in the first half.

Junior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy) and senior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) added buckets and Murphy sank a 3-pointer as the Prairie Fire reduced York’s lead to 39-33 with 2:42 before the break.  However, the Spartans scored seven of the next eight points to take a 46-34 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

York shot 51% (18-of-35) overall, including 5-of-11 (45.5%) attempts from 3-point range, while also connecting on 5-for-6 (83%) free throws in the first half.

Knox hit 40% (14-of-35) of its first half shots and 4-of-15 (27%) from behind the 3-point line.  The Prairie Fire only attempted three free throws and made two of them (67%).  Both teams committed just four turnovers.  York held a 4-0 edge on points off of turnovers and a 9-2 advantage on second-chance points.

A basket by Knox sophomore Armand Stricklin (Lee Summit, MO, Lee Summit West) to begin the second half reduced the Spartans’ lead to 10 at 46-36.  York scored on its first possession to regain a 12-point lead before Stricklin hit another 3-pointer at 18:53 to again pull his team within nine points at 48-39.

The Spartans drained their second straight 3-point field goal to regain a 12 point lead, 51-39, at the 17:50 mark.  A jumper by Shaw on the ensuing possession made it 51-41 ballgame.

York scored seven straight points to take its biggest lead of the game at that point, 58-41, with 15:34 to play.  A 3-pointer by Miller capped a 5-0 run to get Knox within 12 points at 58-46 with 14:24 left in the contest.

The Spartans put the game out of reach with their biggest offensive flurry of the game, a 21-3 run, for a 79-49 lead with a little over 8:00 remaining.

The Prairie Fire managed just six field goals and 24% shooting (6-of-25) in the second half and finished at 33% (20-of-60).  Knox was 2-of-14 (14%) from 3-point range in the half, 21% (6-of-29) overall, and 6-for-11 (54.5%) in the game from the foul line.

York shot a red hot 66% (21-of-32) in the second half and wound up at 58.2% (39-of-67).  The Spartans also made a high percentage from behind the 3-point line (53%) on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-for-4 (75%) in the last 20 minutes.  The only phase of the game York wasn’t strong at was free throw shooting – just 2-for-8 (25%) in the second half and 7-for-14 (50%) overall.

Shaw led the Prairie Fire with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a pair of free throws.  Harned, making his first start of the season, had team-highs of seven rebounds and six assists to go along with two points and two steals.  The other Knox player to score in double-figures was Murphy with 12 points.

Mitch Kemp led five York players in double-figure scoring with 16 points.  Todd Maciejewski added a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The Spartans scored 22 points off turnovers to four for Knox and outscored the Prairie Fire 54-20 in the paint.  York also had 18 second chance points while Knox had six.

The Spartans outscored the Prairie Fire 47-18 in the second half.

Knox (1-10, 1-5 MWC) resumes play and tries to snap a six-game losing streak on January 5 in a Midwest Conference game at Ripon College.  The Red Hawks (4-5, 3-3 MWC) have won two straight games and will play three more before meeting the Prairie Fire.

The MWC contest between Knox and Ripon tips off at 1:00 p.m.  Pregame coverage on the Web is scheduled to begin at 12:50 p.m. at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal#

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