Men's Basketball | 3/5/2017 10:00:00 AM
INDIANA, Pa. – The No. 13 Shippensburg University men's basketball team has its sights set on its second Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title in school history Sunday when it meets rival No. 5 Kutztown at 3 p.m. inside the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at IUP.
SU (25-3) set a new single-season record for wins Saturday when it defeated PSAC West No. 1 seed and No. 2 nationally-ranked IUP Saturday, 90-87, in overtime. Kutztown – the PSAC East No. 1 seed – stormed back from nine points down with 1:58 remaining in regulation to force overtime and beat PSAC West No. 2 seed, Gannon, 91-85.
This is the third meeting this season between SU and Kutztown as each team has won on the other's home floor. The Raiders defeated the Golden Bears, 97-82, on Dec. 30, led by junior
Dustin Sleva's 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Freshman
John Castello had the best game of his debut season, scoring 23 points and grabbing 18 rebounds as the Raiders shot 52.7 percent from the field and 90.3 percent (28-of-31) from the free throw line.
However, in the second meeting Kutztown opened up a 17-point lead with 11:35 left in the second half. SU cut the Kutztown lead to three points at the 1:59 mark, but didn't come any closer. Sleva scored 28 points again in that matchup, but the Raiders were without sophomore guard
Antonio Kellem. The Raiders went 4-3 in the seven games that Kellem missed from Jan. 25 – Feb. 15 due to an ankle injury. SU is 21-0 when Kellem plays this season.
This is the third consecutive season that the two teams have met in the PSAC Tournament. Last season the Raiders defeated the Golden Bears in the PSAC Quarterfinals at Kutztown as
Abe Massaley drained a game-winning jumper with less than two seconds remaining to lift the Raiders to a 74-72 victory. In 2015, Kutztown beat Shippensburg, 77-54 in the PSAC First Round.
Massaley is coming off his fourth career double-double Saturday as he poured in 23 points and added 10 assists. Sleva meanwhile tied his career high with 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting against the Crimson Hawks.
The Raiders are back in the PSAC Championship for the first time since 2006. SU's only PSAC title came in the 1990-91 season. Kutztown, which last appeared in the PSAC Championship game in 2010, has never won a conference championship.
