Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg men's basketball team faced its fifth ranked opponent of the season on Saturday afternoon from Heiges Field House and responded with its most points in a divisional game since 2003, shooting 92 percent from the free-throw line in the game and 58 percent from the field in the second half to defeat No. 16 Kutztown, 87-83.

Shippensburg (11-14, 4-8 PSAC East) got double-digit scoring efforts from four players, including 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds from redshirt sophomore forward Will Royal. Senior forward Brian Oleksiak had a career-high 15 points that included a perfect 9-of-9 effort from the free-throw line. Redshirt freshman guard Lamar Jackson added 16 points and redshirt sophomore guard Jordan Stasyszyn contributed 14 off the bench.

No. 16 Kutztown (20-5, 7-5 PSAC East), the leading offense in the PSAC, got 23 points from Ryan Washington and 21 points from Julius Gray – who started the game by making his first nine shots from the field. Stephen Dennis, the nation's leading scorer, was 6-of-27 from the floor and finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Golden Bears held all of the early momentum, shooting 72 percent through the game's first six minutes and leading for the entire first half. KU shot 19-of-35 from the floor in the first half and went into the locker room with a 46-38 advantage.

Despite the offensive prowess of its visitors, Shippensburg never trailed by more than 10 points in the game and crept within two points after scoring the first six points of the second half. The Golden Bears extended their lead back to nine points only to see the Red Raiders get within one point with 12:14 to go.

Down seven points with 10:17 to go, SU erupted for a 10-1 run over the next five minutes that gave the home team a 73-71 advantage. Kutztown countered to lead by three points with 3:58 remaining, but five consecutive points from Jackson put the lead back in the hands of Shippensburg for good.

The Red Raiders continued to make crucial free throws down the stretch, but Washington converted a three-point play with 26 seconds to go that brought the Golden Bears within one point. Kutztown stole the ensuing in-bounds pass but Gray missed the potential go-ahead jumper. Royal grabbed the rebound with 22 seconds left, was fouled, and made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.

At the other end, Dennis drove to the hoop but was stymied once again with 12 seconds left on the clock. Oleksiak grabbed the rebound, sank two free throws with four seconds to go and the Red Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak to the Golden Bears.

SU was clicking on all cylinders in its 49-point second half. All nine of the Red Raiders that took the floor on Saturday scored at least two points in the final 20 minutes while limiting Kutztown to 35 percent shooting. Shippensburg was also 14-of-16 from the charity stripe and had assists on 12 of its 14 field goals.

Royal's performance was his fifth double-double of the season. Jackson added four assists and committed just three turnovers, while Oleksiak had five rebounds, three assists and two steals without committing a turnover. Stasyszyn shot 50 percent off the bench and redshirt sophomore guard Dane Lauber had six points and four assists.

Perhaps the most unsung of Saturday's heroes was redshirt freshman guard Wali Hepburn, who entered the game having played just 16 minutes this season. Not only did Hepburn play 23 minutes on Saturday, including the decisive final eight minutes of the game, but he sank a pair of free throws with 5:51 to go that gave Shippensburg a two-point lead. He also added four rebounds, three assists and two blocks while playing solid defense that helped befuddle Dennis, the nation's leading scorer.

Shippensburg will compete in its final regular season home at 8 p.m. on Wednesday against West Chester. The Red Raiders will honor their senior class before the game, a group that features Oleksiak and Daziah Miller.