The Shippensburg men's basketball team erased a 14-point deficit Saturday to come back and beat Mercyhurst, 74-66, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover matchup at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie.
              
Shippensburg (3-1, 1-1 PSAC) dominated the second half against the Lakers, who were picked to win the PSAC West prior to the season. SU outscored Mercyhurst (2-1, 1-1) 44-27 in the second half behind standout performances by the Raider point guards.
 
Junior Abe Massaley filled up his stat line Saturday with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and just two turnovers. Massaley made 12-of-14 free-throw attempts. Massaley's fellow point guard, sophomore Clay Conner, provided a huge lift off the bench with 12 points as he connected on all three of his three-point attempts.

Sophomore Dustin Sleva pitched in his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In his first start of the season, senior Tony Ellis made 4-of-5 feild goal attempts, recording eight points and six rebounds.
 
At the worst, SU trailed 34-20 with 4:39 remaining in the first half. SU still trailed by 11 at the half, but opened the second half on an extended 26-14 run to take a 56-55 lead. The run was capped off by a Conner three-pointer followed by sophomore Trent Bauer converting a traditional three-point play.
 
Neither team could extend its lead beyond three points until Massaley found freshman Antonio Kellem for a huge three-pointer that put SU in front 70-66 with 45 seconds remaining.
 
Sleva and Massaley combined to knock down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to ice the game. SU made 25-of-33 free throws on the afternoon.
 
The win is the first for SU over Mercyhurst since January 6, 2012.
 
Shippensburg continues a four-game road trip tomorrow with a 3 p.m. start at Gannon.