The Shippensburg University men's basketball team got within three points of the lead midway through the second half Saturday but was ultimately overwhelmed by visiting Kutztown, falling 67-51 to the PSAC East's No. 2 seed inside Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (12-11, 8-11 PSAC) began an 8-0 run at the 12:04 mark of the second half with a baby-hook jumper from senior Dylan Edgar. After two free throws from sophomore Abe Massaley, the Raiders trailed by three, 45-42 with 9:34 remaining.
 
Kutztown (16-10, 13-7) responded with a 22-9 run to close out the game.
 
Edgar finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and a 4-of-5 performance at the free-throw line. Freshman Dustin Sleva totaled 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
 
The Golden Bears held an advantage in rebounding, 37-24, and field goal percentage (53.2 percent to 32.7 percent).
 
As a team, the Raiders shot 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line, its best percentage from the stripe since it went 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) against Penn State Lehigh Valley back in November.
 
Massaley totaled seven points, two assists and four steals while freshman Justin McCarthur recorded seven points and five assists.
 
Shippensburg continues its playoff push at Millersville Wednesday with a 7:30 tip inside Pucillo Gymnasium. The two teams are currently seeded fourth and fifth in the division and separated by just one-half of a game in the standings.