SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team shook off first-half shooting woes Wednesday to come back and top Bloomsburg, 84-77, in the regular season finale between for both Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams.
 
Shippensburg (18-8, 15-7 PSAC) clinched the No. 4 seed in the PSAC Eastern Division and a home game in the first round of the PSAC Tournament Saturday. The Raiders' opponent will again be Bloomsburg as the two teams tied with a 15-7 PSAC record, but SU holds the tiebreaker: more wins against at-or-above .500 teams.
 
On senior night for SU, the Raiders came out cold, shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, including 0-of-9 on three-point attempts, in the first half. The shooting didn't improve for much of the second half as SU fell behind by as many as eight points with 8:32 remaining.
 
From there, sophomore Justin McCarthur took over the game. McCarthur scored 16 points in the next 4:36, including four three-pointers, to help lead SU on a 20-7 run that turned the eight-point deficit into a five-point lead.
 
Bloomsburg responded with four straight points to cut the SU lead to one, but McCarthur found sophomore Dustin Sleva in the right corner for huge three-pointer with 1:53 remaining. McCarthur made four straight free throws, helping to fend off Bloomsburg down the stretch.
 
McCarthur tied his career high for a third time by scoring 22 points, with 20 of the points coming in the second half. Despite being limited to 19 minutes due to foul trouble, Sleva scored 19 points and had seven rebounds.
 
Senior Tony Ellis scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior point guard Abe Massaley scored 12 points and issued five assists.
 
The six Raider seniors who were honored before the game, Ellis, A.J. Maun, Marcus Williams, Jay Hardy, David Craig and Mark Wilmer, combined to score 22 points and grab 16 rebounds. For Maun, it was his second start of the season. In his first start this season, Williams threw down a huge two-handed dunk early to electrify the Heiges crowd.
 
Saturday marks the third meeting between Bloomsburg and Shippensburg. The teams have split the first two meetings with Bloomsburg winning by 11 in the first matchup at Nelson Field House on Jan. 27.
 
Saturday's game will begin at 3 p.m. from Heiges Field House.