SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg men's basketball team reached 20 wins in a single season for the fourth time in school history Wednesday with an 88-72 victory over Lock Haven in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest at Heiges Field House.
 
SU (20-2, 16-2 PSAC) was led by another combined standout performance by junior Dustin Sleva and junior Justin McCarthur as the duo scored 24 points each. Senior Abe Massaley chipped in 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with four assists.
 
Sleva finished 8-of-17 from the field and made all six of his free throw attempts while pairing his offensive effort with 18 rebounds for a second consecutive game. McCarthur was again proficient from deep, knocking down 4-of-7 three-point attempts. He has made at least four three-pointers in seven of his last nine games.
 
The Raiders came out of the gates blazing with a 21-4 run to begin the game, but the Bald Eagles responded with an 18-5 spurt to bring the game within four points at 26-22. SU outscored Lock Haven 19-12 in the remainder of the first half to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
 
SU was incredibly efficient shooting in the second half as the Raiders shot 50 percent from the field while making 5-of-7 three-point attempts. McCarthur led SU with 13 points in the second half and now sits 30 points away from 1,000 for his career.
 
The Raiders were solid on the defensive end again, limiting Lock Haven (10-11, 6-11) to 42.3 percent shooting and outrebounding the Bald Eagles 45-27. Sleva and freshman John Castello were a huge part of the rebounding margin as Castello totaled 16 giving the SU starting frontcourt a seven-rebound edge on Lock Haven as a whole.
 
SU also did a solid job of the PSAC's second-leading scorer, Amir Hinton, who scored 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including zero makes on five three-point attempts. Doing most of the work on Hinton was freshman Lamar Talley, who also added a career-high 11 points and five rebounds as he made 3-of-5 three-point attempts.
 
SU has now won 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. Head coach Chris Fite is the first coach in SU history with multiple 20-win seasons. The 20 wins are also tied for the second-most in school history (SU won 24 games in 2005-06).
 
The Raiders remain home Saturday when they host Mansfield from Heiges Field House at 3 p.m.