SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team had five different players score double-digit points Saturday in a 79-57 win over Cheyney in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game at Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (12-5, 9-4 PSAC) has not lost since Dec. 13, having won seven consecutive games overall and eight straight in conference play.
 
In his first career start, sophomore Clay Conner led SU with 16 points on a wide variety of shot making to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
 
Sophomore Dustin Sleva and sophomore Justin McCarthur each scored 13. Sleva paired his point total with 15 rebounds, earning his 11th double double of the season. McCarthur led SU with four assists.
 
McCarthur is leading SU in scoring over the last six contests, averaging 14.3 points per game.
 
Junior Abe Massaley scored 11 points, assisted on two buckets and had two rebounds. Senior Tony Ellis had 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Ellis is averaging 12.3 points, seven rebounds and 2.8 steals per game over his last four contests.
 
Both teams shot poorly in the first half as SU took a 32-29 halftime lead on 36.7 percent shooting. However, SU quickly pulled away in the second half with an 11-0 run behind a pair of McCarthur 3-pointers. Overall, the Raiders outscored Cheyney 47-28 in the final 20 minutes on 54.3 percent shooting.
 
The SU defense also played much better in the second half as Cheyney shot 37 percent in the first half with six 3-pointers. After the break, the Wolves managed just seven makes on 31 field goal attempts (22.6 percent) and just two 3-pointers.
 
Every SU player in uniform played in the game, including senior David Craig and junior Chris Nwandu, who each tied a season-high with four points.
 
Seven different SU players played double-digit minutes in the victory.
 
The Raiders improved to 7-1 this season when posting a positive assist-to-turnover ratio as SU dished out 14 assists and turned it over season-low six times. The Raiders also are now 12-0 when scoring 70-plus points.
 
SU is off Wednesday while the rest of the PSAC East plays. The Raiders return to action next Saturday against East Stroudsburg with tip off set for 3 p.m. at Heiges Fieldhouse.