Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Graduate forward Ryan Kraft recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds while five Raiders scored in double figures but the Shippensburg men's basketball team could not outlast the visiting Warriors of East Stroudsburg, dropping an 88-84 double-overtime decision from Heiges Field House.

Shippensburg (8-7, 2-0 PSAC East), playing in its first home game as a PSAC Eastern Division school since the 1986-87 season, opened the game with a 9-0 run and led at halftime by eight points, 39-31. The Warriors countered with a 7-0 run to start the second half and engaged in a war with the Raiders down the stretch, as neither team led by more than three points over the final 14 minutes of regulation. 

With 48 seconds left in regulation, Shippensburg trailed by two points and had to hunker down defensively. Junior forward Brian Oleksiak drew an offensive foul that knocked ESU point guard Pat Fleury out of the game, and on the ensuing possession sophomore guard Justin Minter nailed a put-back with six seconds left that sent the game into overtime.

East Stroudsburg (7-8, 0-2 PSAC East) got a dominating performance from Chris Bach, who totaled a career-high 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He was 14-of-16 from the free-throw line in the contest. Andy Heimbach came off the bench and scored 16 points, including a three-pointer that sent the game into the second overtime.

Heimbach hit his fifth and final three-pointer of the game with 2:35 remaining in double overtime, giving East Stroudsburg an 85-81 lead. A lay-up from Bach extended the Warrior lead to six, and Kraft responded for Shippensburg with a three-pointer that made it a one-possession game with 38 seconds to play but the Raiders could get no closer.

Red-shirt junior center Derrick Graff posted 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in regulation. Junior point guard Stephon Draper added 16 points and five assists, while junior forward Daziah Miller and red-shirt freshman guard Lamar Drayton came off the bench and combined for 27 points.

The contest included an inordinate amount of whistles, as the two teams combined for 46 fouls and 64 free-throw attempts. Shippensburg was 23-of-31 from the line in the game, while East Stroudsburg was 24-of-33.

Saturday's game was also the second consecutive nail-biter between the two teams from Heiges Field House over the last two seasons. In the last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 2, 2007, East Stroudsburg's Josh Wentz converted a desperation tip-in at the buzzer to give the visiting Warriors a 58-56 victory after the Red Raiders had tied the score with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

Shippensburg will return to action on Wednesday, January 21 in a PSAC Eastern Division contest from Millersville University. The first of two regular-season matchups will begin from Pucillo Gymnasium at 8 p.m.