SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team had an incredible night shooting from beyond the arc Wednesday in a 99-89 win over Mansfield in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (14-7, 11-6 PSAC) drained a season-high 14 three-pointers on 27 attempts (51.9 percent), led by sophomore
Justin McCarthur, who hit a career-high six triples. McCarthur scored all of his season-high 22 points in the second half. The 22-point output also tied a career high for McCarthur.
SU was led in scoring by sophomore
Dustin Sleva's career-high 27 points and 13 rebounds. The double-double was Sleva's 13th, which leads the PSAC.
Sleva scored in numerous different ways Wednesday, knocking down a trio of three-pointers and making a career-high 12-of-14 free throws. Sleva has taken a liking to playing against Mansfield, averaging 20.3 points per game in four meetings with the Mounties.
Recording his first career double-double was junior
Abe Massaley, who posted a season-high in assists for a second straight game. The junior point guard totaled 19 points and 10 helpers in the victory.
Freshman
Antonio Kellem came a point shy of his career high as he scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to go along with two blocks and two steals in 36 minutes.
The Raiders led by four at half after shooting 50 percent in the first 20 minutes, but SU really caught fire behind McCarthur in the second half. Shippensburg scored 58 points on 61.5 percent shooting while knocking down 18-of-25 free throws after break. The 99 points by SU is a season high.
McCarthur and senior
David Craig anchored a big run in the second half as the Raiders turned a seven-point lead into an 18-point advantage with a 15-2 run. McCarthur scored nine and Craig scored six in the spurt.
Craig, who made his first start of the season, scored six points and grabbed two rebounds. Sophomore
Clay Conner scored seven points and dished out four assists off the SU bench.
Mansfield, which also shot it well at 52.4 percent, scored 52 second-half points, but came no closer than eight points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
With the win, SU clinches a spot in the PSAC playoffs. The Raiders slide into fourth place in the PSAC Eastern Division standings as Bloomsburg lost Wednesday night.
SU will travel to Kutztown Saturday to take on the Golden Bears from Keystone Arena. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.
