York Takes Third In Men's Tournament With Overtime Win Over Thiel

Written By: Ross Mahaffey '07

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It took an overtime period to decide the winner of the consolation game of the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic, but in the end, the York Cardinals were victorious over the Thiel Tomcats, 83-71. It was an offensive battle that saw a total of six players - four from York and two from Thiel - to record double-figure scoring marks.

Thiel bounced back from a six-point deficit in the last few minutes of the game to force the overtime period, but as six Tomcats eventually fouled out the Cardinals pulled away for the deceiving 12-point victory.

York had four players in double-digits offensively, led by senior forward Dennis Echols with 29 points and eight rebounds. Echols was joined by teammate Jeffrey Boone, who added 24 points and eight rebounds against Thiel after a 27-point, five-rebound effort in their first-round loss to the host Wittenberg Tigers. Aaron Wilson chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds, while point guard Michael Salamanca added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in the victory.

Thiel forward Joe Hermann led all scorers for the afternoon with 30 points; he also chipped in with 13 rebounds and five assists for the day. Sophomore guard Brandon Mirizio was the only other Thiel player to reach double digits on the afternoon with 19. Mirizio also recorded five assists and two steals.

York improved its overall record to 7-5 on the season, while Thiel dropped to 3-7 for the year.