Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - The Shippensburg men's basketball team shot 53 percent from the field in the first half on Monday night from the Hammermill Center as the Raiders earned a 69-50 victory over Seton Hill in the semifinals of the 35th annual Porreco Cup hosted by Gannon University.

Shippensburg (7-1) matched its best start to a season since the 2005-06 campaign with excellent ball movement and high-percentage field goal attempts on Monday night, exuding hustle at all ends of the court.

The hot hand against the Griffins was junior Stephon Draper, whose explosive first half featured 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting, three 3-pointers, three free throws, three assists, two steals and one leap over the scorer's table in 13 minutes of action. He finished the contest with a game-high 23 points while shooting 7-of-8 from the field.

Seton Hill (1-6) cut its second-half deficit to seven points with 6:41 remaining at the final media timeout, but junior guard Brian Oleksiak orchestrated two excellent scoring plays to help Shippensburg clinch the victory.

With time running down on the shot clock, Oleksiak was able to finagle a pass between two defenders that found the hands of sophomore guard Jaren Gembe, who drained a 3-pointer to give the Raiders a 10-point lead.

After a Seton Hill miss, Oleksiak led a fast break down the court, finessing through the defense with a behind-the-back dribble before finding freshman guard Craig Van Scyoc underneath the hoop. Van Scyoc finished the break with a layup, was fouled in the act of shooting and converted the three-point play to put the Raiders up by 13 with six minutes left.

Oleksiak had another excellent game, totaling eight points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while playing excellent defense. Shippensburg was equally impressive on the glass, as five players totaled at least five rebounds in the game.

Three Raiders finished in double figures. In addition to Draper's 23, red-shirt junior center Derrick Graff finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks while junior Daziah Miller came off the bench to deliver 10 points and four rebounds.

Shippensburg advances to play No. 4 Gannon in the finals of the Porreco Cup on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. from the Hammermill Center. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2000-01 season, when the Knights defeated Shippensburg in the Porreco Cup by an 86-71 margin.