Box Score

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Despite a quartet of Raiders in double figures, the Shippensburg University men's basketball team was unable to take advantage of a fast start on Wednesday night in a 72-68 road loss at Lock Haven in front of a raucous Thomas Fieldhouse crowd.

The Raiders (2-17, 0-9 PSAC East) were paced by sophomore Jay Hardy, who scored a team-high 19 points and sank a career-high five three-pointers. Sophomore Joe Lococo added 15 points while junior Sam Pygatt scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench.

Freshman Abe Massaley contributed 10 points and a team-high five rebounds while redshirt-freshman Marcus Williams led all players with 12 rebounds. Sophomore Tony Ellis scored eight points and gathered eight rebounds.

Shippensburg raced out to a 17-6 lead seven minutes into the game as it held Lock Haven (13-6, 6-3) to just 2-of-23 shooting to start the game. LHU didn't record its third field goal until just past the midway point of the half. But with the Raiders ahead by 12 with under six minutes left, Lock Haven embarked on a 16-3 run to take its first lead of the game, up 33-32, with under a minute left in the half.

Lock Haven scored the first seven points of the second half to grab an eight-point lead up 42-34 before a Lococo jumper and a Hardy dunk on a fast break began a run of six straight SU points that ended a 25-5 Lock Haven run extending back to the final five minutes of the first half.

Another six-point run five minutes later cut the Raider deficit to just one, down 53-52, with 8:33 left. Following a pair of jumpers from the PSAC's leading scorer Wali Hepburn (19 points on the night), Shippensburg again scored six straight with an Ellis dunk, a Lococo layup and an Ellis jumper that allowed SU to regain the lead at 58-57 with five minutes remaining.

After the team's exchanged the lead with an LHU bucket and a pair of Massaley free throws, Lock Haven scored 13 of the game's next 18 points to hold off any potential Raider comeback.

The loss was Shippensburg's fourth of the season by four points or less. The Raiders shot 80 percent (16-of-20) from the free-throw stripe.

Shippensburg returns home on Saturday for a 3 p.m. PSAC East contest against Cheyney during the annual "Play 4 Kay" event from Heiges Field House. All fans wearing pink will receive free admission while the first 400 fans wearing pink will receive free Raider sunglasses. More information on Saturday's event can be found here.