SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The No. 8 Shippensburg men's basketball team raced to an early lead Wednesday and continued to pile on in an 85-43 win over a shorthanded West Chester team in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (14-0, 10-0 PSAC) remained unbeaten by dominating each facet of the game as West Chester (6-9, 4-6) dressed just nine players and was missing leading scorer Malik Jackson, among others.
 
SU began the game on a 10-0 run and led 16-3 less than six minutes into the contest. The Raiders then built a 32-11 lead with 3:30 remaining in the first half, but a trio of three-pointers by junior Justin McCarthur and another triple by sophomore Antonio Kellem within the final 1:47 before halftime allowed the Raiders to build a 27-point advantage at intermission.
 
McCarthur finished with 17 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Junior Dustin Sleva totaled 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists in just 22 minutes. Senior Abe Massaley finished with 13 points on seven rebounds.
 
Ten different Raiders scored on the evening as every SU player dressed appeared in the game. The Raiders shot just 43.9 percent from the field, but they made 14-of-31 three-point attempts. Sleva, Massaley, Kellem, junior Clay Conner and freshman Lamar Talley all joined McCarthur in the three-point barrage by SU.
 
Kellem finished with 11 points and three assists while freshman John Castello came close to a sixth double-double as he totaled eight points and nine rebounds. Talley finished with six points and a career-high four rebounds.
 
The 42-point victory by SU is the largest over the Rams in the history of their rivalry. For West Chester, it was the worst loss in 47 years for the men's program.
 
The Raiders will try to make it 15-0 Saturday when they travel to Lock Haven for a 4 p.m. start at Thomas Field House.