Box Score


SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Tony Ellis recorded his first career double-double on Wednesday night but the Shippensburg University men's basketball team came up short down the stretch and dropped a back-and-forth contest to visiting Kutztown, 62-58, in PSAC East action from Heiges Field House.

Shippensburg (2-15, 0-7 PSAC East) led for nearly 30 minutes of the contest – including a stretch from the 12-minute mark of the first half to the 12-minute mark of the second half – as the two teams combined for 11 lead changes and nine ties.

The final tie knotted the score at 56-56 with under three minutes left before sophomore Joe Lococo made a jumper from the left wing to put the Raiders up by two, 58-56, with 1:20 remaining.

Kutztown's (5-12, 3-4) Ryan Connolly sank a three-pointer from the corner on the next possession then followed up a missed layup by junior Sam Pygatt with a pair of free throws from Tracy Peal with 23 seconds left that put the Golden Bears up by three, 61-58.

Sophomore Jay Hardy missed a potential game-tying three-pointer seven seconds later and Kutztown's Austin Beidelman made the first of two free throws on the subsequent possession to grab a two-possession lead and cement the win.

Ellis scored a season-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting while pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds. Lococo was the game's second-leading scorer with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Redshirt-freshman Marcus Williams pulled down 13 rebounds and added a career-high seven points on 5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line. Pygatt added eight points off the bench.

Shippensburg travels to Millersville on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. tip against the Marauders.