The Shippensburg University men's basketball team shot just 35 percent from the field Saturday and trailed by 12 points with 14:16 remaining, but the Raiders rallied in the second half and scored the final six points to defeat Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division rival East Stroudsburg, 71-66, from Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
Shippensburg (12-3, 8-1 PSAC) never held a lead until the 7:00 mark of the second half. SU trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and were again down by 12 points in the second half until a 19-6 run over a seven-minute stretch put the Raiders up by one point, 54-53.
 
SU was up by four points with 2:59 left before the Warriors took a one-point lead with 1:50. The score was tied in the final minute when junior Jake Biss hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 36 seconds left that gave the Raiders the lead for good.
 
East Stroudsburg (8-6, 4-5) scored just 28 points in the second half, with 15 of those points coming from the free-throw line (15-of-15) and only 13 coming from the field. SU opponents entered the game averaging 45.9 percent from the field in the second half this season, but the Raider defense limited the Warriors to a 27.3-percent rate over the final 20 minutes. ESU shot 60 percent (15-of-25) in the first half.
 
Shippensburg overcame its 35-percent shooting by making 20-of-26 (77 percent) from the free-throw line and 7-of-17 (41 percent) from three-point range. SU was 5-of-9 (56 percent) from three-point range in the second half. The Raiders scored 20 points off turnovers and committed just 12 turnovers against the ESU press.
 
Biss led all scorers with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from three-point range and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free-throw line while totaling two assists and just one turnover. It is his fourth 20-point game of the season and the 11th of his career.
 
Senior John Castello overcame a tough first half from the field to achieve his third double-double of the season and the 30th of his career. Castello finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Sophomore Carlos Carter reached double figures for the ninth time this season, totaling 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and equaled a career high with four assists.
 
Sophomore Luke Nedrow scored all nine of his points in the first half. Nedrow finished with six rebounds and was 3-of-8 from the field.
 
Junior Kiyon Hardy scored nine points off the bench, while senior Lamar Talley added six points.
 
East Stroudsburg's bench scored 42 points, while its starters scored 24 points. Troy Jones led the Warriors with 17 points, while Justin Paz scored 15 points. Both men came off the bench. The Warriors shot 26 percent (5-of-19) from three-point range, including just eight percent (1-of-12) in the second half.
 
Shippensburg returns home Wednesday to host Bloomsburg at 8 p.m. from Heiges Field House.