The Shippensburg University men's basketball team was thwarted by a motivated Bloomsburg squad Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action at Nelson Field House, 89-78.
Shippensburg (7-14, 4-10 PSAC) junior
Donovan Hill notched his seventh double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 24 points and pulling down 12 boards. He also added three blocked shots.
Bloomsburg (4-17, 3-11) closed the gap between the Huskies and the Raiders for the sixth and final playoff spot in the PSAC East to just a single game with the victory. Senior Matt Bengel, who was recognized for scoring 1,000 career points prior to tip, led the Huskies with 22 points and eight steals.
The difference in the contest came at the three-point line and at the charity stripe. The Huskies knocked down more threes (10-to-4) and converted at a higher percentage, draining 41.7 percent of their three-point tries to Shippensburg's 33.3.
At the foul line, the difference was even more stark. Bloomsburg went an efficient 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the stripe, while Shippensburg swished 12-of-25 of its free throws, good for just 48 percent.
Overall, Bloomsburg had a slight advantage in field goal percentage – 52.5 percent to 50.8 percent. Thanks to Hill, Shippensburg outscored the Huskies in the paint 52-to-40.
Bloomsburg led 41-27 at halftime, aided by a 14-4 first half advantage in points off turnovers.
The home-standing Huskies then stretched the lead to 22 points, 54-32, following a hot start to the second half.
A 9-0 Shippensburg run inside the final 10 minutes brought SU within eight, 68-60, but the margin was too much for the Raiders to overcome.
Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank finished with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Junior
Timmy Conner added 11 points, while junior
Jalen Bowie contributed eight points and a team-best four assists.
Four Huskies joined Bengel in double figures: Louie Wild (19 points, five assists), Danny Bruce (17 points), Tony Henderson (13 points) and Sean Haus (11 points).
Shippensburg returns home Wednesday to take on Millersville at Heiges Field House at 8 p.m.
