The Shippensburg University men's basketball team dropped a 95-78 decision at West Chester on Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division match at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
Shippensburg (6-11, 4-7) had a strong opening 10 minutes – an early 9-0 run gave the Raiders a 20-13 lead at the 11:36 mark. West Chester (14-3, 9-1) evened the score at the seven-minute mark and a later 8-0 run helped the hosts take a 46-40 advantage into halftime.
The Golden Rams scored the first six points of the second half and kept expanding their advantage. WCU led by as many as 21 points down the stretch.
West Chester shot 55.7 percent from the field – including 54 percent or better in each half. The Golden Rams had assists on 33 of their 39 field goals while committing just 12 turnovers. WCU also posted a 45-22 rebounding advantage and outscored the Raiders in the paint by a 62-34 margin.
Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank paced Shippensburg with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Junior
Donovan Hill had 17 points and five rebounds and matched a career high with five assists.
Freshman
Jaydon Smith contributed 13 points to mark his 12th time in double figures this season. Junior
Timmy Conner had eight points and five assists. Redshirt-freshman
Drew Sleva established a career high of four points by going 4-of-4 at the free-throw line in the final two minutes and recorded his first career steal.
The Raiders, who were limited to eight players in uniform Saturday, had 19 assists and committed only nine turnovers.
West Chester got double-doubles from Dylan Blair (13 points and 11 assists) and Josh Walker (13 points and 11 rebounds) and had five players finish in double figures. Davante Dennis and Elijah Allen led all players with 21 points each. Anthony Purnell Jr. had 10 points and five assists off the bench.
