SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team had five players post double figures Saturday in a PSAC East battle with Mansfield that featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes, as the Raiders used a strong second half to defeat the Mountaineers, 75-71, from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (8-6, 4-6 PSAC) moved into fourth place in the Eastern Division behind 20 points from freshman Justin McCarthur, two shy of his career high, and a season-high 12 points from senior Sam Pygatt. McCarthur also tied his career high with six assists and had six rebounds.
 
Mansfield (6-9, 4-7) led by eight points with 2:47 to go in the first half before the Raiders closed the opening frame on a 6-0 run that included a three-pointer by junior Jay Hardy and a one-handed dunk by senior Dylan Edgar.
 
The run stretched into the second half and was an 11-0 spurt in total, as McCarthur hit a three-pointer to start and Hardy made an easy lay-up off a sweet pass from freshman Dustin Sleva. With 17:39 remaining, Sleva hit a pair of free throws that gave SU a 39-34 lead to cap off what in total was a 15-2 run over 5:08.
 
The Mountaineers would not relent, however, and countered with an 18-8 run that gave the visitors a 52-47 lead with 11:50 to go. It got nine points during the run from Joe Bell, the three-time All-PSAC performer who finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
 
The difference Saturday, however, was free throws. SU made a season-high 24-of-33 at the line compared to a 14-of-20 rate for Mansfield. The Raiders reached the double bonus in the second half with 11:13 still to play, and made 13-of-16 attempts for the duration.
 
Pygatt, meanwhile, scored 10 of his 12 points during the final 11 minutes of play – hitting a three-pointer with 10:33 to go that tied the score at 52-52. He was 3-of-6 from the field, 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and had three rebounds.
 
In a one-possession game with 2:05 to go, Edgar hit a hook shot that put the Raiders up five and marked SU's final field goal of the game. Mansfield would hit a couple of three-pointers in the final two minutes, but Shippensburg went 7-of-8 at the line to clinch the win.
 
Sleva had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. Hardy had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Edgar had 10 points and four rebounds. Junior Tony Ellis provided a critical first-half performance and battled foul trouble along with Sleva, finishing with five points and five rebounds.
 
The Mountaineers got a game-high 23 points from point guard Thomas Moore, who hit 4-of-7 from three-point range and had four of his team's nine assists.
 
Mountaineer senior forward Charles Pemberton, who entered the game ranked sixth in the league in scoring and tied with Edgar for the best field-goal percentage in the PSAC, finished with one point (a free throw), one shot attempt, seven rebounds, four fouls and five turnovers in 13 minutes.  

Shippensburg returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it travels to face Kutztown at Keystone Arena.