The Shippensburg University men's basketball team rode a second-half surge to post a run-away victory over the West Chester Golden Rams in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) clash Wednesday on the road, 76-61.
 
Shippensburg (8-6, 6-2 PSAC) turned a close contest into a rout by closing the game on a 39-23 second-half run. Redshirt-junior Rashon Johnson, led the way, scoring a season-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
 
West Chester (9-5, 4-4 PSAC) shook off a hot start by the visitors to take the lead, 38-37, four minutes into the second half – only for the Raiders to heat up down the stretch. Forward Eli Barrett notched a double-double, with 16 points 11 rebounds and 3 assists, to pace the Golden Rams.
 
The Raiders came off the bus firing, taking a quick 13-2 lead on the hosts with trifectas from redshirt sophomore Andrew Recchia, graduate Luke Nedrow and senior Carlos Carter.
 
The Golden Rams were able to chip away at the early margin, cutting the deficit to one point on a Barrett fastbreak bucket with 2:15 left in the opening half. Raider freshman Denzel Figueroa answered with his first collegiate three-pointer to give the visitors a four-point cushion at the break.
 
West Chester took its first and only lead early in the second half, before a decisive 13-2 spurt from the Raiders.
 
Johnson keyed the spurt, sinking threes on back-to-back trips before providing exclamation point with a steal and slam in the open court that gave the visitors an 11-point edge, 53-42.
 
An outstanding defensive effort allowed the Raiders to pull away from that point forward. Shippensburg held the Golden Rams to their lowest point total at home this season (second lowest overall) on just 36.6 percent shooting in the ball game.
 
Carter joined Johnson in double figures with 19 points, while graduate Dom Sleva was just one point shy of a double-double at 9 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Nedrow had a noteworthy all-around performance, registering 9 points, 8 boards and 5 assists.
 
Next up, the Raiders return home Saturday to take on the Mansfield Mountaineers. Tip-off from Heiges Field House is slated for 3 p.m.