SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team went on a 12-2 run with 5:32 remaining Saturday night to gain enough separation from unbeaten-No. 3 IUP to ultimately outlast the Crimson Hawks, 69-66, in a highly-entertaining Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest that came down to the buzzer from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (8-3, 4-1 PSAC), the top free-throw shooting team in the PSAC, shot 87.1 percent (27-of-31) from the free-throw line. The Raiders had a narrow 36-32 rebounding advantage, and scored 16 second-chance points. Both teams shot 40 percent overall from the field, while neither team exceeded 24-percent from three-point range.
 
IUP (9-1, 4-1 PSAC) entered the weekend with the PSAC's No. 2 scoring offense (85.0 PPG) but finished the night with its lowest scoring output of the season. The Crimson Hawks were 10-of-11 at the free-throw line in the second half, but just 1-of-10 from three-point range over the same span. Excluding their three-point attempts, the visitors were 14-of-19 (73.6 percent) from the field over the final 20 minutes.  
 
For the third time this week, the Raiders had a big scoring run during the first half to achieve early momentum. On Saturday, Shippensburg unleashed an 11-0 run in a 2:17 stretch of play to take a 20-7 lead. SU went into halftime up 32-25.
 
IUP took its first lead of the game, 43-41, with 12:47 remaining. The Crimson Hawks led for much of the second half, yet their advantage never exceeded five points. SU head coach Chris Fite called a full timeout with 5:32 remaining, and after a pair of IUP free throws, the visitors held a 57-52 lead.
 
It was at that point that the Raiders scored the game's next seven points to take a 59-57 lead with 3:27 left. IUP evened the score on the ensuing possession with a pair of free throws, but another 8-2 run ultimately gave Shippensburg the lead for good.
 
Following a missed jumper by the Raiders with 13 seconds left, the Crimson Hawks grabbed the rebound and advanced up the floor with a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer. The visitors were not afforded the chance to do so, however, as point guard Dave Morris was fouled with five seconds left and sent to the free-throw line for two attempts.
 
Morris made both, reducing SU's lead to one, but junior Jake Biss was fouled after a successful in-bounds pass and immediately countered with a pair of free throws at the other end. Both Morris and Biss made their second attempts after waiting out 30-second timeouts called by the opposing coach. With just four seconds left, IUP raced up the floor, and Malik Miller heaved a hurried three-point attempt at the buzzer that was no good.
 
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Raiders and concluded a week in which they played three games in five days against regionally-ranked opponents.
 
"I feel like going through what we've gone through the last week is going to make us stronger in the long run," Fite said. "We've learned a little bit about ourselves and how we react in certain situations. When you become more aware, and you don't allow yourself to get sucked in to the negative momentum, I think that it's a positive."
 
Sophomore Luke Nedrow posted a career high in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with 24 points that included an 11-of-15 rate at the free-throw line. It is the most made free throws in a game by a Raider since Antonio Kellem made 11 in a Feb. 2 win last season at Kutztown. During SU's decisive 12-2 run in the second half, Nedrow was 7-of-8 at the free-throw line.
 
In four December games, Nedrow averaged 13.8 points per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the field, 43 percent from three-point range, and 76 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Biss finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting that included 3-of-4 from three-point range. His driving "and-one" lay-up with 3:00 remaining put SU up by three points and in the lead for the remainder of the contest. He added three rebounds and two assists while playing all 40 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back against the PSAC West's Top 2 teams.
 
Senior John Castello had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Carlos Carter, senior Daylon Carter and junior Kiyon Hardy each contributed six points to the cause. Senior Lamar Talley had five rebounds and three of SU's seven assists on the night.
 
"Tonight, even though IUP kept coming at us and took some leads, our guys really stayed focused," Fite said. "They kept their energy right, and made the big plays down the stretch that we needed to."
 
IUP got 16 points from leading scorers Armoni Foster and Miller – the two men also combined for 16 of their team's 25 first-half points. The Crimson Hawks got all but four of their points from starters; Morris scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Chucky Humphries had 10 points, seven offensive rebounds and three blocks.
 
Shippensburg now enters the mandated holiday break, and will return to practice during New Year's week. SU's next game is on Friday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. versus Millersville in the Eastern Division opener from Heiges Field House.
 
"It's a nice way to go into Christmas break," Fite said after the game. "Our season is very awkward with the Thanksgiving break, a break for finals, with Christmas – you get up and get going and get a couple good wins, and then you have to stop. Everybody's going through the same thing. We reminded our guys to not waste all the work we've put in until now, and keep in shape, and come back hungry."