SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team picked up its first league victory of the year Saturday as it defeated Seton Hill, 71-64, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup at Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (4-2, 1-1 PSAC) got a game-high 27 points from redshirt-freshman Markus Frank, of which 23 came in the second half. Frank also tripled his career high with 16 rebounds, a total that included six offensive boards.
 
Junior Michael Dunn finished in double figures for the third consecutive game with 11 points that included three three-pointers. Graduate Andrew Recchia finished with a season-high 10 points that included two threes. Recchia, Dunn, and sophomore Timmy Conner each hit two big three-pointers in the second half.
 
Junior Kyle Whippen finished with four points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks and was a team-high +13 on the court. Sophomore Denzel Figueroa was a spark off the bench with eight points, six rebounds, a block and a steal on the day.
 
As a team, Shippensburg shot 39 percent from the floor and went 8-for-22 from behind the arc – including 6-of-11 (55 percent) in the second half. SU finished 9-of-10 from the free-throw line overall, with the Raiders making 7-of-8 in the final two minutes.  
 
In the second half, the Raiders shot 54 percent from the field. Twenty-one of the Raiders' 25 points off turnovers came in the final 20 minutes. SU also secured six offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points in the frame.
 
It was a back-and-forth opening to the game through the first 10 minutes. The first half consisted of two ties and seven lead changes. Shippensburg and Seton Hill traded small runs as the Griffins held a 13-9 advantage at the midway point of the first half. The Raiders came out of a timeout with a 6-0 run to regain a lead at 15-13 with 8:26 remaining.
 
Figueroa, who finished the first half 4-of-4 shooting, gave the Raiders a 17-16 advantage. A four-minute drought followed for Shippensburg, and the Griffins regained a lead at 22-17 with 3:47 remaining. Two threes by Seton Hill in the final minute stretched the lead to 31-22 at the half.
 
Seton Hill took the first basket of the second half to extend its lead to 11, but Frank scored the next six points in the game to bring the Raiders within two possessions. A three by Recchia and four more points from Frank capped off a 13-0 run that gave the Raiders the lead at 35-33 with 16:14 remaining.
 
The Raiders continued their offensive momentum, taking a 44-36 lead over the next four minutes with baskets by Recchia and Frank, and a contested three by Dunn. Overall, it was a 22-3 run for Shippensburg over the course of 5:26 of game action.
 
The Griffins quickly tied the score at 46-46, but threes from Dunn and Conner restored the Raiders' six-point lead.
 
Ahead by three points with 3:37 remaining, Dunn made a basket and his third three-pointer of the game to spark a 7-0 run that put SU ahead 65-54 with two minutes remaining – giving each team an 11-point lead in the second half.
 
The Griffins made two second-chance baskets and a big three to cut the lead to five in the final minute, but the Raiders' free-throw shooting (7-of-8 from the line in the final two minutes) secured the victory.  
 
In the second half, Frank was 10-of-12 (83 percent) from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line for his 23 points while also grabbing nine of his 16 rebounds.
 
SU travels to take on Bowie State on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tip off.