The Shippensburg University men's basketball team nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit midway through the second half but came up just short on the road at Bowie State on Wednesday night, dropping a 70-69 decision to the host Bulldogs at A.C. Jordan Arena.
 
Shippensburg (4-3) and Bowie State (4-4) engaged in a seesaw affair that featured 21 lead changes, 17 in the first half alone, and 10 tie scores. The Bulldogs led 36-34 at the half and stretched their lead to nine points with 10:47 remaining, but a 13-3 counter gave the Raiders a 61-60 lead with 5:50 to go.
 
After falling behind by six points with 2:27 left, the Raiders got within a point with 39 seconds left. A Bowie miss with about 10 seconds to go prefaced the exciting final seconds, as SU got back down the floor and redshirt-freshman Markus Frank was able to convert a driving layup with one second on the clock, but the basket was negated as he was whistled for an offensive foul, with Bulldog Anthony Carpenter drawing the charge that won the game for the hosts.
 
Frank recorded his second straight double-double with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds; he also tied the single-game school record with a career-high seven steals. Jason Lester (Nov. 18, 1998 vs. ESU) and Tony Ellis (Jan. 6, 2016 vs. UPJ) also have achieved seven steals in a game.
 
Graduate Andrew Recchia delivered eight points, four rebounds and four assists. Junior Kyle Whippen had five points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
 
SU also got 26 points from its bench, as sophomore Denzel Figueroa contributed a career-high 13 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds while junior Satchel Ball scored a career-high 10 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
 
Turnovers were a big factor Wednesday night as well. Bowie scored 25 points off 23 Raider turnovers, while SU scored 17 points off 17 Bulldog turnovers.
 
Bowie got a double-double from Joel Webb (14 points and 15 rebounds) and 14 points from Deven Richmond. Off the bench, Caleb Johnson contributed 14 points, four assists and two steals.
 
Shippensburg will now break for final exams and return to action Monday, Dec. 18 at Cal (Pa.).