York Catholic boys run away from York Suburban
York Suburban was able to remain close to York Catholic in the first half of the 28th annual Robert H. Griffith Holiday Classic semifinal.
However, some of that may have been the Fighting Irish not hitting shots early — something they had no trouble with after the intermission.
York Catholic poured it on during a 48-point second half, and sprinted off to a 73-43 victory over the Trojans.
The Irish will face Bethlehem Catholic in Thursday’s championship game, a rematch of the 2015 finals, won by the Golden Hawks, 77-76.
Bethlehem earned its way to the title title of the tournament, which benefits York County Special Olympics, by defeating Danville, 67-54.
Melik Martin led the way for the Irish, scoring a game-high 22 points. Teammate D’Andre Davis added 19 – 17 of which came in the second half. Torrey Thomas added 14 off the bench for York Catholic.
The Trojans cut the Irish lead to 31-22 on a Nate Bowman basket, but York Catholic responded with a 20-4 run, including an emphatic dunk from Martin. That was followed by a Robert McNamara 3-pointer that made it 43-24.
A short while later, Davis drained a trey and the Irish took a 48-26 lead after three quarters.
Suburban opened a 6-2 lead early in the game, however the Irish scored the final 11 points of the opening quarter. Later in the first half, the Trojans trimmed the deficit to 18-12, but York Catholic answered with seven straight.
Luke Babinchak led the Trojans with 15 points, including four second-half 3-pointers.
Watch the full-game replay:
