Shockey, York secure semifinal spot

Nate Shockey and his York teammates put on quite the first-half show on their home court Friday.

Shooting nearly 80 percent from the floor while making nine 3-pointers, the Dukes jumped out to a big lead and held on for a 66-58 win over St. Ignatius in the quarterfinals of the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.

Shockey knocked down five of those 3s over the first 16 minutes as York improved to 12-1 on the season while advancing to take on St. Laurence in the semis.

The senior guard finished with a game-high 24 points.

"We played really well as a team," Shockey said. "Everyone found the next guy who was open. We played with a lot of confidence and shot the ball with confidence. Everyone is capable of making shots, it was just my night I guess."

Leading 39-22 at half, the Dukes had to withstand a run by the Wolfpack. Holding York scoreless for the first six minutes of the third quarter, St. Ignatius pulled to within 39-30 before a 4-point play from Erik Cohn broke the ice for the home team. Cohn had 12 points.

The visitors had one last spurt in the fourth, pulling to within 5 points at one point, but York made 13 free throws in the period to withstand the comeback attempt.

Sam Walsh made six free throws in the fourth to add to his 17-point total.

"We know everyone on our team can play," Walsh said, "and you have to respect everyone on the court at all times. If you don't, you will pay like you saw in the first half. Our shooters were on lock down.

"We have a lot of momentum right now and we had a lot of confidence coming into this."

Nick Kosich also checked into double figures for York with 13 points. He and Cohn had three 3-pointers apiece.

"That first half was great," York coach Vince Doran. "A number of guys got it rolling. The guys were focused and ready to play. You always look great when you shoot the ball like that, but it's hard to maintain that for another 16 minutes.

"And give St. Ignatius credit, they did some nice things to make it more disruptive for us. But our kids made some big shots to keep them at bay."