YORK, Pa. – Louis Sarris-Grau (Huntingdon Valley,
Pa./Lower Moreland) netted 17 points to lead McDaniel in a
66-63 non-conference men's basketball victory over York (Pa.)
in the opening round of the 2009 Hampton Inn Coaches vs. Cancer
Classic on Saturday.
Kevin Henry (Potomac, Md./Bullis School) added 11
points for the Green Terror (5-3), who overcame an eight-point
deficit early in the second half to advance to Sunday's
championship game against the winner of Saturday's second
opening round game between Alvernia and Penn
State-Behrend.
Julian Watson led the Spartans (3-7) with 20
points while Jeremy Keefer chipped in
11.
Trailing 66-61, Nick Brady drove and hit a layup
with 14.7 seconds on the game clock to make it a one-possession
game.
Off the inbounds, Mike Riley forced McDaniel into
a turnover. After a timeout with 9.7 seconds on the clock, Riley
fired a 3-point attempt from the right wing that came up short to
preserve the Green Terror victory.
After a scoreless first 2:45 of the game, Josh McKay
(Baltimore, Md./Eastern Tech) hit a layup to snap an
0-for-4 start for McDaniel.
Watson countered on York's next possession with a layup of
his own after a matching 0-for-4 opening, sparking a 17-6 rally
that gave the Spartans a seven-point advantage with 9:13 remaining
in the first half.
A Devon Lesniak (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill)
3-pointer 27 seconds later keyed a 9-4 stretch that pulled the
visitors within two.
Four points apiece from Keefer and Dylan Hoffman
coupled with a Watson basket-and-foul helped the hosts stretch the
lead to 32-24 with 3:03 to play in the first half en route to a
34-28 halftime advantage.
Trailing 44-36 off two Keefer free throws with 15:29 to play,
Sarris-Grau hit a layup on the Green Terror's next possession
to spark a 16-7 run over the next nearly seven minutes that gave
McDaniel its first lead since 4-2.
Trailing 56-55 on a Riley basket with 5:43 showing, Sarris-Grau
converted at the other end to give the Green Terror the lead for
good.
Henry stretched the lead to as many as five at 65-60 with 1:51
remaining before Andrew Pawlyk and Miguel
Jones (Baltimore, Md./North County) traded single free
throws to set up York's final minute comeback
attempt.
McKay added 10 points for McDaniel while Henry dished out five
assists to go with his 11 points. Chad
Arrington (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) chipped
in nine points and nine rebounds.
Game time on Sunday is 6 p.m.
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