A large free-throw discrepancy proved to be the difference for the York College men’s basketball team as they lost to North Carolina Wesleyan College 80-76 in the final game of the Roger Taylor Invitational Sunday afternoon.
N.C. Wesleyan went to the charity stripe 45 times, making 32 of those, while York saw four of its players, including three starters, foul out of the game. Meanwhile, York had 23 trips to the foul line, making 19. That margin would be too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
N.C. Wesleyan’s Brandon Givens was the beneficiary of all those fouls, as he went to the line 24 times, making 20 of those shots en route to scoring a game-high 32 points. Givens’ 24 free throw attempts were just six shy of the NCAA record for most in one game.
Despite all the extra free throws by the Battling Bishops, York managed to keep it close. The Cardinals trailed by nine in the second half but battled back late and rallied to tie the game with 4:24 to play, after a put-back by Thomas Hart made it 65-65.
N.C. Wesleyan would eventually retake the lead and push its advantage to seven points, following a three-point play by Givens with 1:32 to play. But a Terrell Roper jumper and two made free throws by Tony Vails on consecutive possessions quickly cut the lead to just three points with 1:00 to play.
York will open up conference play Tuesday when it visits the College of Staten Island at 7:30 p.m.
