SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team held the conference's leader in three-pointers to just 4-of-19 (21 percent) from long range and 33-percent shooting overall Wednesday as it defeated Shepherd, 66-59, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (21-6, 17-4 PSAC) held its opponent under 60 points for the fifth time this season to triumph on Senior Night and snap a two-game losing skid. Shepherd (13-14, 9-12) out-rebounded the Raiders by one and scored 19 second-chance points, but managed just one three-pointer in the first half and shot 31 percent in the second half.
"The emphasis this week was to get back to what we do well, and what's made us successful all these years," head coach
Chris Fite said. "Our emphasis on defense and the energy that we play with (is key), and I thought the guys played really hard tonight."
The Raiders shot 36 percent, including 33 percent (8-of-24) from three-point range, but committed just eight turnovers and were 12-of-15 (80 percent) at the free-throw line.
"Things didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked offensively, but we grinded it out and we got stops when we needed them," Fite said. "We made things difficult for them tonight."
Shippensburg's four seniors:
John Castello,
Daylon Carter,
Derek Ford and
Lamar Talley, earned starts alongside junior
Jake Biss. Talley, in addition to his customary strong defense, finished with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and zero turnovers.
Sophomore
Luke Nedrow led the Raiders with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and had six rebounds. Nedrow was 4-of-5 from the field in the second half. Castello, who missed time in the first half after being hit in the head and later in the second half due to foul trouble, totaled seven points and eight rebounds. Biss scored 12 points, while Ford hit a corner three-pointer in the opening five minutes.
Shepherd, battling for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Division, got a double-double from Jon Preston (21 points, 11 rebounds) and an 18-point effort from Kyle Daggett. Thomas Lang, the nation's leader in three-pointers (104), was held scoreless by the Raider defense. Lang was 0-for-6 from the field in 29 minutes.
"Lamar is one of the best defenders in the country," Fite said. "He showed that tonight. Every night we put him on the opposing team's best scorer, and he has shut down multiple big scorers. He makes it tough on them."
Shippensburg, ranked fourth in the Atlantic Region earlier in the day, finished the home portion of its regular-season schedule with an 11-4 record at Heiges Field House.
"All of our seniors have been tremendous," Fite said. "I'm really happy for them to get this win on Senior Night to get us back on track. I'm hoping that we have a lot more games together, but I appreciate all those guys very much."
Shippensburg concludes the regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday at Kutztown. The Raiders will then host a PSAC Quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Heiges Field House.
