Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – A potential game-tying three-pointer from sophomore Joe Lococo with just seconds left rattled in and out of the hoop on Wednesday night as the Shippensburg University men's basketball team dropped a heart-breaking 80-77 decision to Mansfield in a back-and-forth PSAC East battle from Heiges Field House.

The Raiders (2-22, 0-14 PSAC East) lost their sixth game of the season by four points or less despite committing just seven turnovers (their second-fewest this season) to 16 for Mansfield (8-17, 6-9), which remains alive for a final playoff spot in the PSAC East. The Raiders capitalized on MU's miscues with 27 points off its 16 giveaways.

Shippensburg received a spark from a career effort from junior Mark Wilmer, who earned his second start of the season and played a career-high 32 minutes against his former team. Wilmer posted career highs of 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks on a 7-of-13 shooting effort. 

In fact, in the last two Mansfield-Shippensburg games from Heiges, Wilmer is averaging 11 points and six rebounds per game (he scored a then-career-high eight points and pulled down four rebounds for Mansfield at SU on Jan. 19 last season).

Three other Raiders scored in double figures on Wednesday, led by an 18-point effort on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc courtesy of sophomore Jay Hardy.

The backcourt duo of Lococo and freshman Abe Massaley posted an impressive 11-2 assist-to-turnover ration on the night. Lococo scored 17 points and added a team-high six assists while Massaley poured in 16 points and added six rebounds and five assists.

Freshman Keelan Adams made his third consecutive start and also made an impact in the Raider frontcourt, scoring eight points on 4-of-7 shooting while collecting four rebounds and blocking two shots.

Facing a 14-7 deficit just over five minutes into the contest, SU used a 10-3 run – highlighted by a second Hardy dunk off a Lococo alley-oop assist (the pair also connected on the first bucket of the game) – to tie the score at 17-17 midway through the half.

Shippensburg later responded to a 13-2 Mansfield run by getting as close as 36-35 after back-to-back Massaley three-pointers before entering halftime down three, 40-37.

Mansfield maintained its lead for the beginning of the second half before Hardy sank a three-pointer at the 11:45 mark to grab a 55-53 lead – its first since a 7-5 lead three minutes into the game.

The Mountaineers extended their lead to nine with under five minutes left before a tip-in from redshirt-freshman Marcus Williams, a Lococo three-point play and a contested Wilmer lay-up on back-to-back-to-back possessions cut the deficit to just two, down 73-71 with 2:53 left.

The teams traded points in the final minute, including an Adams tip-in off a missed Lococo jumper with 27 seconds left again cut the deficit to one. After Massaley's fifth foul of the game, a pair of Mansfield field throws with 22.6 seconds left pushed the lead to three and set up Lococo's game-tying attempt from the top of the key.

Shippensburg heads to Kutztown on Saturday for a 3 p.m. matchup from Keystone Arena.