The Shippensburg University men's basketball team fell to the Mansfield Mountaineers Wednesday in a high-scoring Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) showdown with postseason implications at Decker Gymnasium, 102-85.
 
The Raiders (8-16, 4-14), in a dead heat with the Mounties (7-16, 5-13) for the sixth and final playoff spot in the East entering play Wednesday, had five players reach double figures, but could not cool a red-hot Mansfield squad that shot nearly 60 percent from the field (59.2%) and 50% from three-point range (13-of-26).
 
Redshirt-freshman Markus Frank led Shippensburg's double-figure scorers with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Junior Michael Dunn scored 13 points during a perfect night from the field – shooting 5-of-5 overall and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Sophomore Timmy Conner also finished with 13 points.
 
Mansfield matched SU's five players in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from forward Saraj Ali on 8-of-11 shooting. Guard Michael Dickson finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Guard Manir Waller added 16 on 87.5% shooting (7-of-8).
 
The offense started from the opening tip, with Shippensburg taking an early 9-3 advantage following a three from graduate guard Andrew Recchia.
 
The SU lead was quickly erased by a 10-0 Mansfield run, and the Raiders matched the Mounties' offense for much of the first half before two late Mansfield treys opened up a ten-point lead for the hosts at halftime, 48-38.
 
Mansfield began the second half with a quick 8-0 spurt ignited by three-pointers from Dickson and Scott Woodring, further expanding their lead, 56-40. The Mountie advantage later grew to 29 points, 84-55, as Woodring drained a three-pointer to cap a 15-2 run trey with 6:59 remaining.
 
Dunn caught fire late for the visitors, scoring all 13 of his points in the second half, but his perfect night from the field made just a small dent in Mansfield's overall margin of victory.
 
Junior Kyle Whippen and junior Satchel Ball rounded out the double-figure scorers for Shippensburg. Whippen registered 12 points and five rebounds. Ball netted 11 points, converting 3-of-4 from three.
 
Shippensburg shot 48.6% overall from the field and 57.1% from three-point range (12-of-21) in the game.
 
Up next, the Raiders host Senior Day against the East Stroudsburg Warriors Saturday at 3 p.m. inside Heiges Field House.