The Shippensburg University men's basketball team played its first game in 10 days on Tuesday night but came up short in a pivotal regional matchup at Fairmont State, dropping an 84-72 decision to the Fighting Falcons from Joe Retton Arena.
 
Shippensburg (7-2) allowed more than 70 points in a game for the first time all season, as Fairmont State (8-2) shot 50 percent from the field and forced 20 Raider turnovers. The hosts totaled a 46-26 advantage on points in the paint and got 30 points from their bench.
 
SU held a 24-10 lead with 7:49 left in the first half, but Fairmont countered with a 14-0 run to tie the score. The Fighting Falcons held a 31-30 halftime lead, marking the fifth time in nine games this season that the Raiders trailed at the half.
 
The majority of the second half was played within one possession until the hosts embarked upon a 7-0 run to take a 73-65 lead with 3:55 remaining. It was still a five-point game with 2:49 left before the Fighting Falcons closed on a 9-2 run to win by double digits.
 
Senior John Castello led the Raiders with 23 points, marking his second straight 20-point game and third of the season. Castello made a career-high five three-pointers; he was 5-of-7 from three-point range despite entering Tuesday's game 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range for the season. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.  
 
Sophomore Carlos Carter was the only other Raider in double figures; he finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two assists. Carter was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Sophomore Luke Nedrow scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Senior Lamar Talley had eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
Junior Jake Biss had just five points, but did equal a season high with seven assists.
 
Junior Kiyon Hardy scored eight points, while redshirt-sophomore Dom Sleva added six.
 
SU averages just 13.7 fouls per game but was whistled for 23 on Tuesday – leading to foul trouble throughout the night. Castello fouled out in the final 90 seconds, while three other Raiders finished with four fouls.
 
Dale Bonner paced the hosts with a game-high 27 points to complement five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Bonner was 3-of-5 from three-point range. Fairmont's second and third-leading scorers both came off the bench; Przemyslaw Golek had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Jacob Brown had 14 points and eight rebounds.
 
Shippensburg returns to action this weekend with a pair of conference crossovers, entertaining Pitt-Johnstown at 7:30 p.m. Friday before taking on No. 3 IUP at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.