JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Senior guard Alex Jones tied a school record with eight three-pointers and delivered a career-high 30 points for the Shippensburg men's basketball team on Wednesday evening at Sports Center, but a layup at the buzzer from UPJ's Chris Gilliam propelled the homestanding Mountain Cats to an 87-85 victory.
Shippensburg (5-7) had its strongest offensive game of the year, scoring a season-high 85 points and shooting a season-best 56.6 percent from the field while connecting for a season-high 15 three-point field goals in 30 attempts. The Red Raiders also totaled a season-high 21 assists and had its best free-throw shooting performance (10-of-11; 90.9 percent) of the young season.
UPJ (4-3) was just as efficient, finishing the game with an uncanny 64.3 percent effort from the field in the game to go along with 24 assists. The Mountain Cats trailed the Red Raiders by four points at halftime and were down by as many as 12 points in the second half but exploded for 25 points in a 10-minute stretch to turn a 66-54 deficit into a 79-79 tie score with 2:12 remaining.
Jones' blistering touch from distance kept Shippensburg in the game, as his final 3-pointer of the evening tied the score at 85-85 with 12 seconds left before Chris Gilliam delivered his buzzer beater to give Pittsburgh-Johnstown the victory.
In addition to Jones, three Red Raiders also totaled double figures in scoring. Red-shirt junior Ryan Kraft connected for three 3-pointers and compiled 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while red-shirt sophomore center Derrick Graff added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Freshman Dane Lauber rounded out the double-digit scorers with a career-high 11 points and seven rebounds in his second start of the season. Freshman Jaren Gembe contibuted six points and six assists in 23 minutes off the bench while fellow freshman Justin Minter also dished out six assists.
Jones caught fire from the outset and had already tied his previous career-high of five 3-pointers by halftime. His total of eight ties the school record held by Karriem Parker that was set against Slippery Rock in the 1994-95 season. Jones also set the school record for 3-pointers attempted in a game with 18, surpassing Chuck Davis's mark of 15 set against Cheyney on Dec. 5, 2003.
Gilliam led UPJ with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting as four of its five starters posted double figures. Marcus Tullis contributed 18 points and a game-high seven rebounds while Quentin Davis and William Sharpe combined for 26 points and 15 assists.
Shippensburg, meanwhile, finished the game with just as many 3-point field goals (15) as 2-point field goals while totaling its fewest rebounds (22) in a game this season.
The Red Raiders will host West Chester this Saturday to begin the third PSAC Crossover of the season. Game time from Heiges Field House is set for 3 p.m. The contest will be the first home game for Shippensburg with its new wood floor that was installed on Tuesday, December 19.
- Red Raider Basketball -
