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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg University men's basketball team will travel to Fairmont, W. Va. this weekend for the 2017 Atlantic Regional Championships as part of the Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The region's games will be held at Joe Retton Arena inside the Feaster Center on the campus of Fairmont State University.

The national tournament is comprised of 64 teams (eight regions of eight teams) vying for eight spots in the NCAA Division II Men's Elite Eight, which will be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

No. 2 SU's opening round game will come against the Panthers of Virginia Union - the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Region. The Panthers were the regular season champs in the CIAA, going 14-2 in league play and 22-7 overall. However, Virginia Union has not played since February 23, when they lost to Bowie State, 84-78, in the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament. VU also lost its regular-season finale to Chowan, 88-84, in overtime.
 
The Panthers are very strong inside as they outrebound their opponents by almost eight boards per game. Senior guard Ray Anderson leads the Panthers with 18.4 points per game. Anderson has made a team-high 115 free throws this season, but currently has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio (98 assists, 105 turnovers).
 
Senior forwards Tavon Mealy (11.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and John Mitchell (9.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg) provide a formidable Panther front line. Junior swingman James Page (9.1 ppg, 42 3-PT FG) provides Virginia Union's biggest outside threat. Overall, the Panthers are much more inside-oriented, having made only 119 three-pointers this season.
 
Meanwhile, the Raiders continue to build on their record-setting season from beyond the arc, where SU has knocked down 286 three-pointers – the most in a single season in school history. Junior Justin McCarthur has had plenty to do with that as he owns the individual single-season record for three-pointers with 92. McCarthur's 14 second-half points Sunday was pivotal in the Raiders' 73-63 victory over Kutztown to win the PSAC Championship.
 
McCarthur and junior Dustin Sleva (21.8 ppg) are the PSAC's highest scoring duo. The PSAC East Athlete of the Year, Sleva, remains the lone player in college basketball averaging at least 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists with a total of 50 made three-pointers.
 
However, the catalyst to SU's road to a PSAC Championship was unquestionably senior point guard Abe Massaley, who was named Tournament MVP following a semifinal weekend in which he averaged 22 points and 6.5 assists per game. Massaley, who has a pair of points-and-assists double-doubles in SU's last five games, is second all-time in assists in SU history.
 
Likely drawing the assignment of guarding VU's Anderson – the CIAA Player of the Year – is sophomore Antonio Kellem. The Raiders have yet to lose with Kellem in the lineup (22-0), with all three of the Raiders' losses coming when Kellem missed three weeks with an ankle injury. Freshman forward John Castello will also play a big role Saturday on the boards against a big Virginia Union team. Castello, who averages 10.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, has eight double-doubles this season, including 11 points and 11 rebounds in the PSAC Championship game.
 
The Raiders will also count on junior point guard Clay Conner to run the show a bit off the bench. He has 51 assists to 29 turnovers this season. Expect sophomore forward Manny Span to provide important reserve minutes inside as well.
 
If the Raiders can get past the Panthers, SU will play the winner of third-seeded West Liberty and sixth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit in Saturday's regional semifinals.

2017 Atlantic Regional Schedule

Atlantic Regional Quarterfinals (Saturday, March 11)
Game No. 1, 12 p.m. - No. 3 West Liberty (28-3) vs. No. 6 Wheeling Jesuit (23-7)
Game No. 2, 2:30 p.m. - No. 2 Shippensburg (26-3) vs. No. 7 Virginia Union (22-7)

Arena will be cleared between Game No. 2 and Game No. 3

Game No. 3, 6 p.m. - No. 1 Fairmont State (29-2) vs. No. 8 Bowie State (16-14)
Game No. 4, 8:30 p.m. - No. 4 Indiana (PA) (27-3) vs. No. 5 Kutztown (26-3)
 
Atlantic Regional Semifinals (Sunday, March 12)
Game No. 5, 5 p.m. - No. 1/No. 8 Winner vs. No. 4/No. 5 Winner
Game No. 6, 7:30 p.m. - No. 3/No. 6 Winner vs. No. 2/No. 7 Winner

Atlantic Regional Championship Game (Tuesday, March 14)
Game No. 7, 7 p.m. - Semifinal Winners