SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team led for just 12 minutes on Saturday but rallied and ultimately defeated regional foe Virginia Union in an overtime thriller, 78-72, in the eighth and final game of the 2017 Wolf's Bus Lines Classic held inside Heiges Field House.
Saturday's contest was a re-match of last year's NCAA First Round matchup between the two teams. Shippensburg (2-0) has now defeated Virginia Union (1-1) twice in the two matchups after prevailing last season, 79-59.
SU was led by senior
Dustin Sleva, who carried the Raiders through multiple stretches of the game Saturday night. Sleva finished with game highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 points in overtime. The senior shot 10-of-19 from the field and 3-of-7 from behind the arc.
Three other Raiders scored in double figures including senior
Justin McCarthur, junior
Antonio Kellem and sophomore
John Castello. McCarthur and Kellem each finished with 11 points while Castello recorded his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Sleva (46 points, 26 rebounds) was named the Wolf's Bus Lines Classic Tournament MVP, while McCarthur (28 points, 6 assists) and senior
Clay Conner (19 points, 9 assists) were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
SU fell behind early for the second straight game and struggled to find a rhythm offensively for much of the first half. Freshman
Jake Biss made multiple shots in the first 20 minutes, however, to keep the Raiders within striking distance. Biss finished with eight points in just his second collegiate game. SU was 1-of-17 from three-point range in the first half and trailed the Panthers at the break, 25-18.
The second half did not disappoint however, with both teams exchanging big shots over the final 20 minutes of the play. There was a total of nine lead changes in the second half and two lead changes in overtime.
With the Raiders trailing 27-20, Sleva took over and scored the next seven Raider points to tie the game at 27 and forcing Virginia Union to call a timeout. Sleva would go on to score 14 points in the second half behind 5-of-9 shooting.
Shippensburg seemed to be nearing a certain win with just one second remaining on the clock and it holding a 55-53 advantage. But Virginia Union tied the game with less than a second on the clock on an inbounds alley oop converted by Jordan Peebles off an assist from Kori Cooley to force overtime.
The overtime period saw both teams combine for 40 points in five minutes with the Raiders scoring 23 – five more than they did in the opening 20 minutes. SU closed the final five minutes of play going 16-of-18 from the line with four different Raiders converting from the charity stripe.
Shippensburg will return to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when it goes on the road to take on Slippery Rock in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup.
