INDIANA, Pa. – At the end of the 2013-2014 season, Shippensburg University men's basketball finished with a 3-23 record. Three years later, SU is celebrating its second Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship in school history following a riveting 73-63 victory over No. 5 Kutztown at IUP's Kovalchick Complex (KCAC).
 
"They're tough, competitive kids and unselfish," Shippensburg head coach Chris Fite said of his team. "Every guy on our roster is like that. To keep adding those pieces to the puzzle and to see it take shape and come to fruition – it's very rewarding as a coach, but even more so it's to see these guys have success. They put their faith in me, they put their faith in the university and they bought in. They signed up to come into a program that was…rocky. They saw the vision that I laid out for them and saw where they'd fit into it."
 
No. 13 SU (26-3) finished the game on a 23-9 run to turn a five-point deficit with 7:30 left into a double-digit victory. The Raiders battled shooting struggles all afternoon, as they were shooting 37.8 percent for the game prior to the decisive run. Over the final 7:30, SU made 6-of-9 field goal attempts while converting all nine free-throw opportunities.
 
"It was a battle all night," Fite said. "5-for-25 from three and 15 turnovers and giving up (13) offensive boards, there was just a lot of stuff going against us. It was sluggish. After such an emotional night last night, as a coach you kind of hope that doesn't affect you, but maybe it did.
 
"We kept trying to encourage the guys to stay the course and don't try to do too much because things aren't going our way and that things will turn. Fortunately, we made enough shots to get some momentum and to get back on the right side of things."
 
It was SU's defense and free-throw shooting that kept the Raiders within striking distance throughout the game. Kutztown was held to a season-low 63 points on 38.6 percent shooting – the second-lowest mark for the Golden Bears this season. SU finished 22-of-26 at the free-throw line, while Kutztown earned just two points from the charity stripe.
 
Leading the way for SU on Sunday was its lone senior in uniform, Abe Massaley, who earned the PSAC Tournament MVP following a performance that included a game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Massaley scored 16 of his 21 points in a second half where SU outscored the Golden Bears, 45-33.
 
All five Raider starters were in double figures Sunday, including junior Justin McCarthur, who was scoreless at halftime, but rebounded to pour in 14 second-half points. McCarthur had a personal 8-0 run that began SU's 23-9 finish to the game that included a tough layup and back-to-back three-pointers that ignited a small, but loud SU gathering at the KCAC.
 
Kutztown was effective in slowing SU's leading scorer, junior Dustin Sleva, as he scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but made just 3-of-10 shots from the field. It was the first time this season that Sleva did not make a three-pointer in a game. Sophomore Antonio Kellem scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds while John Castello posted his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
"One through five, you see it today, Dustin was held to (11 points), we've got other people" Massaley said. "Justin, Antonio, John – you can't just focus on one person. That's how our team is built."
 
SU's five three-pointers were a season low, marking the first time this season the Raiders won a game in which they made less than seven three-pointers in a game. SU finished 5-of-25 from beyond the arc and 43.4 percent from the floor overall.
 
This is SU's first PSAC title since 1991 as the Raiders have completed a remarkable turnaround from Fite's first season three years ago. Massaley was the only player on the floor Sunday who was on the roster for that season.
 
"It's just believing," Massaley said. "When I came into this program, after the first year it was really tough, it was really difficult. But Coach Fite, he always said, 'You keep cracking at the stone, you keep cracking at the stone. No matter how long it takes, you keep cracking at it.' That's the mindset that we all took in and he chose me as a leader and I took that position and I just said it to the guys and they all bought into the system.
 
"It's an unbelievable feeling right now. I can't really put it into words."
 
With the win and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, SU will likely move up the Atlantic Regional rankings after being ranked No. 5 when the latest rankings were released this past Wednesday. Regional play begins next Saturday at the location of the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region. The teams will be announced as part of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball selection show at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
 
"We'll be ready," Fite said. "We just beat the No. 2 and the No. 5 teams in the country. Our guys, they're competitors."