ETTRICK, Va. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team scored a season-high 98 points on Saturday night en route to its second NCAA Tournament victory in school history, posting a 98-66 win over No. 12 West Liberty in the opening round of the 2018 Atlantic Regional from the Virginia State University Multi-Purpose Center.
Shippensburg (24-7) successfully weathered the patented West Liberty (26-4) press, posting a season-high 23 assists while committing just 13 turnovers. SU thrived in the half court and went nuclear in the second half – shooting 17-of-24 (71 percent) from the field, including 7-of-12 (58 percent) from three-point range.
Overall, the Raiders shot 58 percent, including 48 percent (13-of-27) from three-point range, and made 21-of-27 (78 percent) from the free-throw line. SU improved to 2-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition.
West Liberty entered the game as the No. 1 scoring offense in NCAA Division II (106.6 points per game) but was held 40 points below its average on Saturday. The Hilltoppers scored their fewest points in a 135-game span (60 against Charleston on Mar. 9, 2014). Region standout Dan Monteroso paced WLU on the night with 17 points and six assists.
Shippensburg also dominated the glass, posting a +17 rebound advantage. West Liberty entered the game ranked second in NCAA Division II with an average of 15.9 offensive rebounds per game, but managed just 18 total rebounds in Saturday's contest.
SU got a game-high 33 points from senior
Justin McCarthur, who shot 7-of-10 from three-point range and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line in a sensational scoring performance. McCarthur moved into fifth place on SU's all-time scoring list (1,609 points), passing Ken Miller (1,606 points from 1962-66).
Senior
Dustin Sleva posted his 57th career double-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Sleva broke the school record for career rebounds Saturday; his final rebound was the 1,119th of his career to move past the old record (1,118) held by Keith Hill (1987-91).
Junior
Antonio Kellem scored 13 points, including three three-pointers, while senior
Clay Conner and sophomore
John Castello each added eight points.
SU got 16 points from its bench. Junior
Manny Span had four points and five rebounds, while freshman
Jake Biss had six points, two rebounds and three assists without a turnover in 12 minutes. Sophomore
Na'Quan Council handed out four assists.
Shippensburg led 11-2 through the first six minutes and held a 21-12 lead at the midway point of the opening half. The Raiders then embarked on a 17-5 run to lead by 18 points, 38-20, with 5:30 remaining before halftime. West Liberty countered with a 13-6 run, but SU took a 45-33 lead into halftime.
After a Luke Dyer three-pointer for the Hilltoppers just 18 seconds into the second half, the Raiders put forth a 9-0 run to stretch their advantage back to 20 points. SU led by at least 16 points for the remainder of the game.
The first of SU's 13 three-pointers allowed the Raiders to break the school record for single-season three-pointers (317), a mark set by last year's squad.
Shippensburg will face the host and No. 1 seed Virginia State at 7:30 p.m. Sunday from the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.
