Gallery: (1-15-2025) 2024-25 Men's Basketball vs. ESU
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team came up just short against rival East Stroudsburg on Wednesday night, dropping a 90-87 overtime decision to the Warriors in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division battle at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (6-10, 4-6 PSAC) trailed by 15 points just eight minutes into the game but battled all the way back and took a 48-47 lead into halftime. SU began a 10-0 run at the 10:15 mark of the second half to flip a five-point deficit into a five-point advantage and led 77-70 with four minutes to go.
East Stroudsburg (12-4, 6-3) rallied down the stretch and tied it by forcing a turnover and converting a layup with 33 seconds left. Both teams had a game-winning shot attempt blocked in the final four seconds of regulation.
ESU's Ethan Millirons drained a three-pointer with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime to win it. Neither team led by more than two points in overtime until Millirons' three-pointer and there were four ties in the extra session.
The physical, entertaining contest featured a total of nine lead changes – six alone in the second half – and 10 ties. The teams combined for 106 points in the paint.
Despite the frequent Warrior press, SU posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (20 assists, 16 turnovers). The Raiders matched their season highs in assists and steals (10) while coming four points shy of their season best offensively.
ESU finished with a 48-34 edge in rebounds, with Jalen Pichardo leading all players with 14 boards. The visitors doubled the hosts in second-chance points, 24-12.
Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank led all players with 33 points; he was 13-of-20 from the field, 6-of-7 from the free-throw line and made his only three-point attempt. Frank added three assists and three steals and was balanced in his output – scoring 17 in the first half and 16 after halftime.
Freshman
Jaydon Smith played all 45 minutes Wednesday night and was all over the floor once again. Smith scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting (2-of-4 from three-point range) and converted two free-throw attempts after an ESU technical foul. Smith also had six rebounds and five assists.
Junior
Trey Martin had a tall task defensively but was resolute and asserted himself on both ends of the floor. Martin scored seven points on an efficient 3-of-5 shooting while chipping in four rebounds and four assists.
Juniors
Denzel Figueroa and
Jalen Bowie were integral off the bench, combining for 46 minutes of game action and posting the two highest individual plus-minus ratings of any player on either team. In 16 minutes of action, SU posted a plus-17 scoring margin with Bowie on the floor, and the guard finished with six points, two rebounds and two steals.
Figueroa endured 29:44 of physical post play and shined – totaling 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting (his fourth game in double figures this season) while grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots. He posted a plus-14 rating.
Redshirt-freshman
Jackson Boone delivered nine big minutes in the first half, scoring six points and grabbing one rebound. Boone made both of his field-goal attempts and was 2-of-3 at the free-throw line; the Raiders posted a plus-10 point differential with him on the floor.
Junior
Timmy Conner finished with three points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals while fellow junior
Donovan Hill had three points, four rebounds and two assists.
For the visitors, All-District forward Lakeem McAliley had 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block in 28 minutes of action. Pichardo came a point shy of a double-double and did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes of action. Seven of his 14 rebounds came on the offensive end. Cam Young had 16 points and a game-high four steals, while Millirons finished 3-of-6 from three-point range.
Wednesday marked SU's fifth home loss by just five points or less. The Raiders fell to 2-6 overall in games decided by two possessions or less.
Shippensburg is on the road for its next two contests, beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday at West Chester.
