CHEYNEY, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team used a 56-point second half, shooting 75 percent (15-of-20) from the field after halftime, to erase a 13-point first-half deficit and knock off home-standing Cheyney, 89-82, in a high-scoring PSAC East affair from Cope Hall.
 
Freshman Dustin Sleva went 8-of-8 from the field, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead a group of five Raiders in double figures. Sleva was 2-of-2 from three-point range, 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.
 
Shippensburg (10-8, 6-8 PSAC) trailed by 10 points, 40-30, with 1:44 to play in the first half before turning the tables with an impressive 31-10 run in which it shot 11-of-14 from the field – including four three-pointers. Freshman Justin McCarthur closed the first half with a three-pointer to begin the run and scored 11 points during the decisive stretch of play.
 
Cheyney (1-18, 0-14) raced out to a 23-10 lead in the game's first seven minutes, making 9-of-11 field goals including a torrid 5-of-6 three-pointers to begin the game. The Wolves entered the game with a league-best 156 three-pointers and finished 11-of-30 from distance against the Raiders, who began Saturday as the No. 5 three-point defense in Division II.
 
After SU's decisive run, Cheyney found itself down 11 points, 61-50, with 11:53 to go. The Wolves responded with a 19-8 run, tying the score at 69-69 with 5:52 to play. Junior A.J. Maun answered with two three-pointers in a 90-second span, his only shots of the second half, to give SU a six-point lead with 4:22 to go. The Raiders closed by going 11-of-14 at the free-throw line.
 
Senior Dylan Edgar continued his great play by posting 16 points, four rebounds and two assists while thriving with a 6-of-8 effort from the free-throw line. McCarthur totaled 17 points and five assists, going 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
 
Junior Jay Hardy scored 11 points including a 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc. Sophomore Abe Massaley overcame first-half foul trouble to tally 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in 24 minutes of action.
 
Shippensburg totaled 17 assists and tied a season-low eight turnovers. It was the third time this season the team has posted a 2-to-1 or better assist-to-turnover ratio. Six different players had at least two assists and eight different players recorded at least one assist.
 
The Raiders shot 60 percent (27-of-45) from the field and a season-best 9-of-19 (47.7 percent) from three-point range. SU also shot 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) from the free-throw line, a season high in makes, while Cheyney was just 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the stripe.
 
Shippensburg has its PSAC "bye" on Wednesday and will return to action at 3 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Bloomsburg inside Heiges Field House.