CALIFORNIA, Pa. - The Shippensburg men's basketball team was tied with the #21-ranked Vulcans of California University (Pa.) with four minutes to play, but the Red Raiders were held scoreless down the stretch and dropped a 71-60 decision on Wednesday evening inside Hamer Hall.

Shippensburg (6-19, 0-10 PSAC West) received a strong effort from freshman Justin Minter, who erupted for a career-high 20 points and has now scored at least nine points in 12 of his last 13 games.

Red-shirt junior guard Ryan Kraft contributed 13 points including three 3-pointers, while senior guard Alex Jones and red-shirt sophomore center Derrick Graff each added 11 points.

Shippensburg maintained the pace with the Vulcans for the first 12 minutes of the game, as a lay-up from freshman Dane Lauber gave the Red Raiders a 19-17 lead with 8:51 left in the first half.

California (20-4, 9-0 PSAC West) quickly gained momentum by closing the half with a 19-4 run to lead 36-23 at halftime. The Vulcan run was highlighted by 5-of-5 shooting from bench player Raynard Sawyer, who drained three 3-pointers and racked up 13 points over the first 20 minutes.

Shippensburg was undaunted and recorded a 19-6 run of its own over the first seven minutes of the second half to tie the score at 42-42 with 13:14 remaining. During the run, the Red Raiders received eight points from Graff and five from Minter to eliminate its deficit.

The Vulcans responded to take an eight-point lead at the 8:29 mark, but the Red Raiders answered once again by tying the score at 58-58 with a three-pointer from Minter.

Ultimately, California prevailed by holding Shippensburg scoreless over the final 4:11 and scoring the final 11 points of the game.

With the win, the Vulcans have now won 17 consecutive games over the Red Raiders at Hamer Hall. The last time Shippensburg won at Hamer Hall was on March 4, 1991 in the first round of the PSAC Tournament.

With the loss, the Red Raiders are currently enduring their worst losing streak since the 1999-2000 season, when Shippensburg lost 11 straight games including nine in PSAC Western Division play. Wednesday's loss marks the first time the Red Raiders have lost 10 consecutive PSAC Western Division games since the 1994-95 season, when Shippensburg finished 9-17 and 2-10 in the PSAC West.

The Red Raiders will look to snap their losing streak on Saturday when they host Slippery Rock at 3:00 p.m. from Heiges Field House. The Rock defeated IUP 73-68 on Wednesday night to move into a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Division.

Before the game, Shippensburg will recognize Jones, its lone senior, in a ceremony honoring him for becoming the 27th player in school history to achieve 1,000 career points. Coverage of Saturday's contest will be available on Shippensburg University student radio station WSYC 88.7 FM as well as on the Internet at raiders.ship.edu.

- Red Raider Basketball -