SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team erased a 19-point second-half deficit Saturday to rally and beat Seton Hill, 94-93, on junior
Abe Massaley's game-winning three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining inside Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (5-4, 2-4 PSAC) trailed 77-58 with 8:48 to go before finishing the game on a wild 36-16 run that was capped by Massaley's clutch jumper from the top of the key.
The 19-point comeback by Shippensburg is the largest since Dec. 20, 2005 when SU erased a 22-point deficit with 19 minutes left in a win over East Stroudsburg.
"Coming into the second half, we thought we would try to change the tempo and go to a smaller lineup and make it a higher possession game," Shippensburg head coach
Chris Fite said of the key to the run. "We thought maybe we could get over the hump that way. We kept chipping away and chipping away and believing and we finally pulled it out."
Over the final nine minutes, Shippensburg made 11-of-20 from the field, including 6-of-13 from three-point range. Massaley led the charge with 14 of his team-high 24 points during the run.
Overall in the second half, SU scored 66 points after totaling just 28 in the first half. That is the most points scored in a half by an SU team in the Stat Crew era (began in 1998-1999 season).
The Raiders made 10 three-pointers in the second half after missing all five attempts from deep in the opening 20 minutes. It's the first time that a Shippensburg team has made 10 three-pointers in one game since Feb. 25, 2012.
Massaley's steal and layup cut Seton Hill's lead to 93-91 with 1:17 remaining. SU stopped the Griffins on the ensuing possession but then missed a pair of potential go-ahead three-pointers, giving Seton Hill another chance to ice the game.
However, the Raiders came through with another stop and sophomore
Dustin Sleva ripped away a tough rebound and handed off to Massaley.
The Raider point guard dribbled down the right side and then went left off a ball screen by Sleva, creating enough space to knock down the game-winning three-pointer. Seton Hill passed the ball in quickly, but a heave from half court missed the backboard entirely.
Sleva finished with his sixth double-double in nine games as he totaled 14 points and 14 rebounds (six offensive). Freshman
Antonio Kellem continued a stellar start to his freshman season with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Senior
Jay Hardy was the fourth Raider in double digits with 12 points and four rebounds in just 19 minutes. Sophomore
Justin McCarthur provided a spark off the bench with a season-high nine points.
The Raiders shot 51.3 percent from the field in the second half, and 42.5 percent for the game, and made 22-of-26 from the free throw line.
SU plays again next Sunday when it travels to Shepherd to face the Rams in a 4 p.m. start.
