SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team stepped up its game in terms of grit and defense at the end of regulation and in overtime to fend off a pesky Bloomsburg squad Saturday during a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) collision inside Heiges Field House, 84-79.
 
Shippensburg (17-9, 15-5 PSAC) freshman Denzel Figueroa and graduate Luke Nedrow combined for eight blocks, including four alone in the five minutes of overtime to help the Raiders escape with the victory.
 
Saturday marked the first time all season that SU deviated from its regular starting five, with Figueroa making his first collegiate start due to an injury to graduate Dom Sleva. Figueroa posted 8 points, along with career-highs in rebounds (7), blocks (4) and minutes played (34:47).
 
Nedrow also stepped up in Sleva's absence, finishing just four rebounds shy of a triple-double. He collected 11 points, a career-high 10 assists, six boards and four rejections.
 
Bloomsburg (1-23, 1-19 PSAC) gave the first-place Raiders all they could handle thanks to clutch performances from point guard Louie Wild and forward Jake Nelson. The tandem gave the Raider defense fits for most of regulation and provided the visitors with a four-point lead on the scoreboard, 69-65, with just 2:27 left the second half.
 
Nelson finished with 22 points and six rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting, while Wild registered 21 points and 4 assists, including a 3-for-5 night from three-point range.
 
The Raiders called on senior Carlos Carter and redshirt senior Rashon Johnson for back-to-back buckets late in regulation to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
 
Shippensburg scored the first four points of the extra session, including a pick-and-roll basket from Figueroa off a Carter assist.
 
Bloomsburg managed to even the score once again before Carter and Nedrow combined on back-to-back buckets, with Nedrow finding Carter for a finish down low each time – the second of which resulted in a three-point play that gave the Raiders the lead for good with 1:16 remaining.
 
Johnson went six-for-six from the foul line to wrap up the win. Johnson finished with 18 points, including a career-best 10-of-10 night from the foul light.
 
Carter led the Raider offense with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Redshirt sophomore Ty Crespo added a career-high 13 points, converting three-of-four from beyond the arc.
 
Up next, Shippensburg wraps up the road portion of its regular season schedule Wednesday at Shepherd. Tip-off from Shepherd's Butcher Center is set for 7:30 p.m.