Box Score

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Red-shirt junior Derrick Graff recorded his fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting to help the Raider basketball team earn its first PSAC Eastern Division victory since the 1986-87 season with an 80-67 win at Millersville on Wednesday night from Pucillo Gymnasium.

Shippensburg (9-7, 1-2 PSAC East) committed just 12 turnovers in the contest and had its fourth positive assist-to-turnover performance this season. All nine Raiders that played on Wednesday scored at least two points and played six or more minutes, as four players finished with double figures in scoring.

Millersville (6-10, 0-3 PSAC East) received a career game from freshman Brandon Widener, who finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the Raider defense neutralized senior Reggie Bates. The preseason All-PSAC selection shot 1-of-10 in the contest and scored just five points, his lowest total since March 3, 2007 (a span of 51 games).

The Raiders shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive road game and converted 18-of-27 free-throw attempts in the contest. Shippensburg shot 55 percent in the second half and closed the game on an 11-3 over the final five minutes to seal the double-digit victory.

Sophomore guard Justin Minter delivered 12 points and two assists in 28 minutes for Shippensburg, while junior guard Brian Oleksiak had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes without committing one turnover.

Only four players came off the Shippensburg bench in the contest but the quartet combined for 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Red-shirt freshman Lamar Drayton added 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench, while junior forward Daziah Miller contributed 11 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.   

Shippensburg led by seven points at halftime but Millersville kept poking away at the deficit in the second half, trailing by just two points on three occasions until tying the score at the 17:19 mark. The Raiders immediately responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes and took control for the remainder of the contest. 

The Raiders will return to action on Saturday, January 24 for a PSAC Eastern Division contest with Kutztown from Heiges Field House. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Kutztown (13-3, 2-1 PSAC East), picked No. 1 in the preseason Eastern Division Coaches Poll, defeated Mansfield on Wednesday night by an 85-69 margin.