SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team used a sizable advantage on the glass Saturday to hold off the Bloomsburg Huskies in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match-up at Heiges Field House, 88-83.
 
The Raiders (7-14, 3-12 PSAC) out-rebounded their Husky counterparts by an eye-popping 58-21 overall margin, and an even more impressive 31-to-3 on the offensive glass. Junior Kyle Whippen was the biggest standout, recording his sixth double-double of the season at 18 points and 16 rebounds.
 
The Huskies (4-17, 2-13) would not go away despite having just eight available players and dealing with extensive foul trouble, clawing back from as much as a 13-point deficit to make it a one-point game with seven minutes remaining. Bloomsburg guard Louie Wild scored a game-high 25 points and dished out eight assists.
 
SU erased an early deficit to take a double-digit advantage midway through the opening frame. Back-to-back threes from graduate Andrew Recchia and junior Michael Dunn, followed by another Recchia jumper provided Shippensburg with its largest lead, 34-21, with 6:36 remaining in the opening half.  
 
The Raiders maintained an eight-point advantage at the half, 42-34, and stretched the advantage back to 13 with 12:21 left.
 
Bloomsburg guard Jagger Dressler sparked the Huskies' second-half surge, draining three second-half threes on his way to a career-high 19 points. Forward Kyle Saglamben later converted an and-1 lay-up to bring the Huskies within a single point, 70-69, with seven minutes remaining.
 
Whippen answered with a layup inside the paint on the next SU possession, and Conner later splashed a second chance three-pointer that pushed the lead back up to five, 76-71, with five minutes left.
 
The Huskies made it a one-point game once again on a Wild basket with 1:59 left, but another clutch Conner jumper and a putback from redshirt-freshman guard Markus Frank eventually sealed a well-earned Raider victory.
 
Frank was the Raiders' top-scorer, finishing with 19 points and 9 boards. Conner tallied 16 points, hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Recchia was the fourth Raider in double-figures, finishing with 14.
 
Lastly, sophomore forward Donovan Hill added five points to go along with a career-best 17 caroms.
 
Shippensburg returns to action Wednesday with a road contest against the Millersville Marauders. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.