SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Junior Jay Hardy hit a game-tying three-pointer in the final five seconds of regulation Wednesday night as the Shippensburg University men's basketball team scored the first seven points of overtime to ultimately outlast visiting Wilmington (Del.), 80-75, from Heiges Field House.
 
Both Shippensburg (3-0) and Wilmington (0-3) held 10-point leads in the contest, but it was the Raiders who trailed 63-53 with 4:50 to play. SU countered with a 12-2 run over the next 3:20, scoring six of its points at the free-throw line, to tie the score at 65-65.
 
The Wildcats responded with a free throw and a lay-up to lead by three points with 33 seconds to play. Following a timeout, the Raiders drove down the floor but a bad pass resulted in their 23rd turnover of the game and a foul put Wilmington at the free-throw line with 17 seconds left and a chance to seal the game.
 
WU missed the front end of the one-and-one, however, and after SU's final timeout at the other end, Hardy came off a screen to hit a deep three from the middle with five seconds to go. The Wildcats got a contested runner off at the other end that clanged off the rim to result in overtime.
 
Senior forward Dylan Edgar was a force in the paint once again, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. He shot 10-of-13 from the floor.
 
Freshman Justin McCarthur had 15 points, six assists and five steals for the Raiders. Sophomore Abe Massaley struggled from the floor but scored 13 points, making his first nine free-throw attempts on the night, while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
 
Hardy finished with 10 points – all coming after halftime – and junior Tony Ellis scored a season-high nine points and had five rebounds while playing key minutes with freshman Dustin Sleva in frequent foul trouble. Sleva still managed six rebounds and four assists.
 
SU won despite committing 24 turnovers, one more than it had totaled in its first two games combined. WU scored 24 points off those turnovers but was hamstrung by a 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) performance at the free-throw line. Sam Sanders led the visitors with 21 points – 15 coming in the first half.
 
Shippensburg, already having matched its win total of last season, has its first conference game at 3 p.m. Saturday when it travels to Bloomsburg. The Huskies defeated Cheyney tonight on the road, 97-87, in Cope Hall.