MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team tightened up its defense in the second half Saturday to pull away from Millersville and win 76-64 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest at Pucillo Gymnasium.
                              
Shippensburg (10-5, 7-4) have won five straight games and six straight in conference play.
 
Sophomore Dustin Sleva led the way for Shippensburg with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds. The double-double for Sleva is his 10th of the year, which is the most in all of Division II basketball.
 
Sophomore Justin McCarthur had another nice game off the SU bench, scoring 14 points to go along with two assists and two rebounds. McCarthur knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the final minute of the first half to extend SU's lead to a first-half high of nine.
 
The Raider lead ended up being seven going into halftime and the Marauders battled to cut the lead to five with 13:35 to play. However, the Raiders embarked on an 18-4 run over the span of nine minutes to put the game well out of reach. Millersville went without a made field goal for nearly five minutes after a layup at the 8:31 mark.
 
Beyond limiting made baskets, the SU defense controlled the glass Saturday, outrebounding Millersville 41-24. Another key difference after halftime came at the foul line, where Millersville shot just three free throws in the second half after attempting 20 in the first half.
 
All 14 SU players appeared in the game, including nine who scored. SU tied a season-high with 10 made three-pointers. Six different SU players made a three-pointer, led by Sleva's four.
 
SU will look to extend its winning streak Wednesday when it finishes a three-game road trip at Lock Haven, with tip off set for 7:30 p.m.