SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The No. 13 Shippensburg men's basketball team used a strong second half Wednesday to beat East Stroudsburg, 85-71, inside Heiges Field House to advance to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semifinals this weekend.
 
SU (24-3) has now tied its single-season record for wins as SU also won 24 games in the 2005-06 season. The Raiders will try for win No. 25 Saturday in the PSAC Semifinals against IUP.
 
Junior Dustin Sleva once again paced the Raiders with 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists although he missed the final 3:27 due to fouling out. Sleva has scored 24-plus points in seven of SU's last eight games. Freshman John Castello turned in one of his best performances of the season, making all seven of his field goal attempts en route to 19 points and six rebounds. Castello nailed a career-high three three-pointers.
 
Junior Justin McCarthur added four three-pointers as he poured in 16 points in 36 minutes. For a second consecutive game, sophomore Antonio Kellem scored 10 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing three assists. Senior Abe Massaley added eight points and five assists.
 
The Raiders used a flurry at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to distance themselves from a pesky East Stroudsburg side. McCarthur banked in an acrobatic layup with 15 seconds and SU forced a turnover at the other end, allowing junior Clay Conner to race down the court and put up a floater with seven seconds remaining.
 
The shot rolled completely around the rim before falling out, but Sleva was there for the tip-in as time expired in the first half to give the Raiders a 39-34 lead. SU carried that momentum into the second half where McCarthur made back-to-back three-pointers in the first 1:30 to stretch the Raider lead to 11 points.
 
ESU's Rasheed Moore (20 points) tried to lead the ESU rally as his layup at the 12:10 mark brought the Warriors within three points of SU. However, Castello buried a three-pointer at the other end to spark a 12-3 SU run that drove the margin into double digits for good.
 
The Raiders shot 50 percent from the floor (27-of-54) and made 22-of-23 free throws for a season-high 95.7 percent rate. SU, which leads the PSAC in field goal percent defense, limited the Warriors to 40 percent shooting from the field.
 
SU is making its second consecutive trip to the PSAC semifinals, where it will take on the Crimson Hawks for a second time this season. The Raiders defeated IUP, 87-70, in the first meeting between the two teams in IUP on Dec. 3. The Raiders head into the weekend looking for just a second conference championship in school history and first since 1990-91. In the other semifinal, Kutztown will battle Gannon in a matchup of the PSAC East No. 1 seed and the PSAC West No. 2 seed.

It is just the second time in school history that the SU's women's and men's basketball teams will both be playing in the semifinals. 
 
Saturday's game will begin at 3:30 p.m. from the Kovalchik Complex at IUP. Information on live coverage will be posted in the coming days.