Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team used balanced scoring and a steady defensive performance on Friday night to earn its first victory over Mercyhurst since the 1991-92 season, edging the Lakers by a 68-61 margin from the Athletic Center.

Shippensburg (6-7, 3-4 PSAC) entered the contest ranked 10th in Division II for field-goal percentage and continued its efficient shooting from the floor with a 52.9 percent proficiency on Friday night. The Raiders shot 57.7 percent in the second half and had six players finish with at least seven points.

Senior Jordan Stasyszyn led the Raiders with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Fellow senior Craig Van Scyoc added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, providing most of his scoring in with hard work in the post.

Senior Will Royal added a scoring punch off the bench with 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman point guard Reggie Charles had another solid performance with nine points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Mercyhurst (7-4, 5-2 PSAC), a strong PSAC Western Division opponent, was playing without the services of injured star forward Luis Leao. The Lakers shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first half and 36 percent overall despite 21 points off the bench from local product Andrew Rickard.

The Raiders held a six-point lead at the intermission and stretched their advantage to 11 points with 10:07 remaining. Laker head coach Gary Manchel called a timeout during the ensuing possession and instituted a full-court press after a made bucket. The move gave Mercyhurst some momentum, as the Lakers got within four points of the lead with 7:38 remaining.

SU battled back and eventually overcame the pressure, stretching the lead back to 10 points with 4:59 remaining. The Raiders led by as many as 12 points in the final minute.

Shippensburg returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday from Slippery Rock.

Notes: Friday's game was the first this season that Shippensburg won despite losing the rebounding battle (34-33)…Charles entered the game ranked fifth in the PSAC for assists and has now provided five or more assists in six contests this season…SU shot 78 percent from the free-throw line (11-of-14).