SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg men's basketball team remained unbeaten Wednesday by erasing a double-digit second-half deficit and outscoring East Stroudsburg by four points in overtime to win 86-82 in a thrilling Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East matchup from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (16-0, 12-0 PSAC) trailed 55-44 to the Warriors with 12:05 remaining, but SU junior Justin McCarthur responded with a three-pointer that started a slow, but steady comeback by the Raiders.
 
SU cut the East Stroudsburg (12-5, 10-2) lead to one point multiple times in the final minutes of the second half, but a floater in the lane by ESU's Quindell Brice with 47 seconds left put the Warriors up three. Shippensburg, which had not tied or taken a lead at any point in the second half, turned to McCarthur, who took a feed from junior Dustin Sleva on the deep right wing and drilled a game-tying three-pointer with 27 seconds left in regulation. At the other end, ESU missed a three-pointer, and Sleva secured the rebound to send the game to overtime tied at 69.
 
ESU scored the first points of overtime with a pair of Brice free throws, but McCarthur drained another three-pointer at the other end and SU did not trail again.
 
McCarthur led SU with 24 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc and nine makes on 13 attempts from the free throw line. He has now made 24 three-pointers in the last seven games. Sleva finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
 
With the game tied at 74-74 in the extra period, sophomore Antonio Kellem knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key off a Sleva dish to put the Raiders ahead for good. Kellem totaled 17 points and eight rebounds on the night. Senior Abe Massaley had 13 points and five rebounds.
 
Also key for SU was freshman John Castello, who posted his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Manny Span played an important 18 minutes defending ESU leading scorer Rasheed Moore, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The Warriors' Chris Bing had 15 points and 16 rebounds, but other than Brice (11 points), no other ESU player reached double-digit points.
 
It was just the third time that SU trailed at halftime and SU had not trailed by more than six points at any point this season before Wednesday night. It was also SU's worst night from the line on the season (min. 15 attempts) as the team made 21-of-31 (67.7 percent) Wednesday.
 
With the victory, Shippensburg now has a two-game lead on both East Stroudsburg and Kutztown in the PSAC East standings. SU remains the only unbeaten team in the conference. SU's 16 wins have already tied for the seventh-most in the history of the program, which spans 88 seasons.
 
The Raiders will look to make it 17 straight wins when they travel to Cope Hall Saturday to take on Cheyney at 1 p.m.