Gallery: (11-28-2022) 2022-23 Men's Basketball vs. Bowie St.
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- The Shippensburg University Men's Basketball team survived a tough, physical contest against nonconference foe Bowie State to win its home opener Monday at Heiges Field House, 70-58.
Shippensburg (2-3) converted a season high 24-of-32 from the foul line, while holding the opposition to a season-low 58 points defensively. Graduate student
Dom Sleva notched his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing a season-high 18 rebounds.
Bowie State (2-6) held the lead for much of the first half, as the Raiders needed time to adjust to the Bulldogs' full court pressure defense. The Bulldog-backcourt duo of Warren Mouganda and Quinton Drayton both reached double figures, scoring 15 points and 14 points, respectively.
Freshman
Denzel Figueroa provided the home side with a spark off the bench late in the first half, skying for an offensive rebound and converting through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Raiders the edge with 3:48 remaining before halftime, 25-24.
The Raiders would never relinquish the lead, getting a fast break three from senior
Carlos Carter in the final moments of the first half to stretch their advantage to six at the break, 34-28.
An acrobatic lefty layup from redshirt-sophomore
Ty Crespo provided the hosts with their largest advantage, 16 points, midway through the second half, and redshirt-senior
Rashon Johnson provided the final exclamation point on the win, stepping in front of a Bowie State pass and soaring in for a breakaway slam with 1:56 left, 67-54.
Shippensburg got double figure scoring efforts from Johnson (14 points), Carter (13 points) and Sleva, as well as important contributions off the bench from the likes of Figueroa and Crespo. Both had their best games as a Raider. Crespo tallied 9 points and 3 assists, both career highs, while Figueroa chimed in with 5 points and 4 boards in a little under 8 minutes.
Additionally, Sleva's 18 boards were one off his career high of 19, set February 2022 against Lock Haven.
The Raider defense held the Bulldogs to a paltry 33.9 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three in the victory.
The win marks the Raiders' third straight win over Bowie State, having survived a 47-39 slugfest in their last meeting, December 2021 at Bowie.
Up next, the Raiders open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play when they host the California (Pa.) Vulcans Friday at Heiges Field House. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
