BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The No. 9 Shippensburg men's basketball team snapped a brief two-game skid Saturday with a strong second half to pull away in an 84-59 win over Bloomsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup from Nelson Field House.
 
SU (19-2, 15-2 PSAC) carried a six-point lead into halftime, but the Raiders took control of the game quickly in the second half by beginning the final 20 minutes with four consecutive three-pointers – one by senior Abe Massaley followed by three consecutive triples from junior Justin McCarthur. Overall, SU outscored the Huskies 50-31 in the second half.
 
Together, McCarthur and Dustin Sleva spearheaded SU's second-half efforts by combining for 36 points after intermission. Sleva scored 10 points in an 18-4 Raider run that put Shippensburg up by 23 with 9:54 remaining. Sleva tied his career high with 28 points – his second straight game with that total – to go along with 18 rebounds. The junior forward has scored at least 20 points in five of his last seven games.
 
McCarthur set a new career high with 26 points – 20 of which came in the second half – on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Massaley totaled 13 points and a team-high six assists.
 
SU, which had allowed 80-plus points in both of its recent losses, was much improved defensively Saturday, limiting Bloomsburg to 35.1 percent shooting. That mark was the second-lowest allowed to a PSAC team by SU this season (the Raiders held West Chester 23.1 percent shooting on Jan. 11).
 
In his first career start, freshman Lamar Talley, was relentless defensively on Bloomsburg leading scorer Christian Mortellite. The Huskies' junior was limited to 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting after entering the day averaging a PSAC-best 23.6 points per game. Talley totaled nine rebounds and was rewarded for his efforts with a late three-pointer – his only three points of the day.
 
The Raiders finished the afternoon shooting 54.2 percent from the field (58.6 in the second half) while making 9-of-16 three-point attempts and converting 11-of-12 free throws.
 
SU returns home for back-to-back games at Heiges Field House Wednesday when it hosts Lock Haven with tip-off set for 8 p.m.