SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Red-shirt junior guard Ryan Kraft delivered the most well-rounded game of his career for the Shippensburg men's basketball on Sunday afternoon, totaling 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help defeat the Millersville Marauders by a 79-73 margin inside Heiges Field House.

The loss ended a three-game losing streak for the Red Raiders, who had dropped those three decisions by a combined eight points.

Kraft's near triple-double included the second time in his career that he recorded double digits in rebounds. The ten rebounds recorded by Kraft were just one short of his career-high that was set earlier this season at Mansfield.

Five of Kraft's career-high nine assists came on lay-ups by red-shirt sophomore center Derrick Graff, who delivered 17 of his career-high 24 points in the first half.

Shippensburg (6-8) held a 36-31 halftime lead on the strength of Graff's presence in the paint as well as 51.9 percent shooting from the field as a team. Yet an already explosive contest bordered on the verge of bedlam in the second half, as a string of emotional runs put forth by the two teams highlighted the strength of the rivalry between two teams separated by just 81 miles.

Millersville (7-4) reversed a seven-point halftime deficit by forcing four turnovers in the first seven minutes of the second half to take a two-point lead, 44-42, with 13:58 remaining. For the game, the Marauders finished with 23 points off turnovers and also held a 21-2 advantage in fast-break points.

The Red Raiders quickly responded with a fevered pace that resulted in a 20-9 run over the next eight minutes that gave the Red Raiders a 62-53 lead with 6:07 to go. The run was capped off by a three-pointer from sophomore Brian Oleksiak, whose strong defense helped quell the strong shooting of Millersville's Reggie Bates.

With the momentum in its favor, Shippensburg looked to its defense to hold the lead and it responded in the final two minutes. Leading by just one point with 1:35 remaining in the game, the Red Raiders converted seven of their eight free-throw attempts down the stretch and forced two turnovers to help seal the victory.

After a back-court violation from Millersville's Charlie Parker with 20 seconds remaining, Kraft capped off the emotional win with a slam dunk. The victory helped Shippensburg avenge an 87-70 defeat to the Marauders inside Pucillo Gymnasium on Nov. 28.

The Red Raiders have now won seven of their last 10 against Millersville dating back to the 2001-02 season, and the Marauders have not won inside Heiges Field House since a 60-53 victory on Nov. 29, 1999.

After a foot injury slowed senior guard Alex Jones and limited him to just 13 minutes of action, freshman guard Jaren Gembe ran the point and totaled a career-high 27 minutes. Gembe converted all seven of his attempts from the free-throw line and finished with 11 points.

Rounding out the double-digit scorers for Shippensburg was freshman guard Justin Minter, who totaled 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds as the only Red Raider to play in all 40 minutes.

Shippensburg will return to action next Sunday, January 13 when the Red Raiders travel to Cheyney to round out competition against the PSAC East. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

- Red Raider Basketball -