The Shippensburg men's basketball team dropped an 85-61 decision to host East Stroudsburg on Wednesday night in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opener for both teams from Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
Shippensburg (2-1, 0-1 PSAC) was paced offensively by sophomore Dustin Sleva, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Sleva also had a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Three Raiders finished in double figures. Junior Abe Massaley had 14 points and five assists. Freshman Antonio Kellem scored 11 points.
 
Off the bench, sophomore Clay Conner contributed eight points, shooting 4-of-5 at the free-throw line. Sophomore Trent Bauer was needed for 19 minutes in the post and had six points, including a dunk in the game's final 10 seconds.
 
East Stroudsburg (3-0, 1-0) embarked upon a 21-0 run just 90 seconds into the contest, transforming a 3-2 SU lead into a 20-point Warrior advantage with 11:56 to play in the first half. SU fought back to within nine points of the lead on a Sleva jumper at the start of the second half, but East Stroudsburg countered with an 18-4 run to lead by 23 points, 59-36, with 14:24 remaining in regulation.  
 
The Raiders were out-rebounded 49-27 in the contest and began the game just 1-of-11 from the field with five turnovers.
 
Shippensburg is in Erie this weekend for two more PSAC contests. The Raiders face Mercyhurst at 3 p.m. Saturday and then Gannon at 3 p.m. Sunday.