The Shippensburg University men's basketball team survived a second-half charge from host Mansfield on Saturday as it prevailed 82-78 over the Mountaineers in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division match at Decker Gymnasium.
Shippensburg (6-9, 4-5) shot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the field in the first half to stake out a 52-36 halftime advantage. It was the second 50-point half of the season for the Raiders; SU scored 59 in the second half of its road win at Wilmington (Del.) in November. All eight Raiders contributed points in the first half.
Mansfield (5-9, 2-6) trailed by 15 points, 66-51, with 8:45 remaining. The Mountaineers got hot down the stretch, and a 14-2 run put the hosts within three, 68-65, with 5:25 to go. After some back-and-forth, SU took a 77-70 lead with 2:58 left when junior
Timmy Conner made a pair of free throws.
Undaunted, the Mountaineers kept chipping away, and a layup by Julian Wilson tied the game at 78-78 with 42 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, freshman
Jaydon Smith received a pass and drove to the hoop for the winning layup; the bucket gave the Raiders an 80-78 lead with 29 seconds left.
After calling timeout, Mansfield had two chances at an equalizer, but neither was converted. Junior
Donovan Hill blocked the second attempt and Conner made two free throws to seal the win.
Conner led the Raiders with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting; he was 2-of-4 from three-point range and 6-of-7 at the free-throw line. He also had four assists.
Smith finished with 12 points and a team-high five assists; he was 5-of-9 from the floor (2-of-4 from three-point range) and did not commit a turnover in his 38 minutes of action.
Hill finished a rebound short of a double-double, totaling 12 points and nine boards while equaling his career high with three blocks. He was 6-of-7 at the free-throw line.
Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank ended up with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and had a game-high three steals.
Redshirt-freshman
Jackson Boone made the most of his nine minutes of action, scoring a career-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. Boone also grabbed three rebounds. He entered the day with just six career points through four games.
Junior
Denzel Figueroa had nine points and five rebounds. Fellow junior
Trey Martin was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble but scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Junior
Jalen Bowie had four points, three rebounds, two assists and a block.
Saturday marked the third time this season that five Raiders finished in double figures (at Seton Hill, vs. Pitt-Johnstown).
Mansfield got 21 points and 18 rebounds from Sterling Scott – the 18 rebounds are six more than any other SU opponent had recorded this season. The Mountaineers shot 44 percent from the field in the second half and held the Raiders to 36 percent in the final 20 minutes.
Shippensburg hosts East Stroudsburg at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Heiges Field House.
