Gallery: (2-12-2025) 2024-25 Men's Basketball vs. WCU
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's basketball team raced out to a 22-point lead in the first half Wednesday and held on late to post a wire-to-wire victory over No. 22 West Chester, 85-81, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (8-16, 5-12 PSAC) opened the game by making 16 of its first 20 field-goal attempts (80 percent) to lead 38-16 with 8:30 to go in the first half. The Raiders used an 8-0 run and a 12-0 run to blitz West Chester (19-5, 14-3), as the Golden Rams were just 6-of-18 (33 percent) from the field in the same span.
SU only made 15 field goals in the remaining 21:30 but asserted itself defensively. The Golden Rams attempted 23 more shots in the second half than the Raiders (44-21) but only had four more makes; Shippensburg limited the visitors to 34-percent shooting in the second half and 36 percent overall.
As a point of comparison, West Chester shot 55.7 percent against the Raiders back on Jan. 18 – the highest output by an SU opponent this season.
WCU used an 8-0 run late in the first half to get within 50-38 at the intermission and got within three points with 10 seconds to go, but the Raiders made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to snap a three-game losing skid against the Golden Rams.
West Chester is a perennially strong offensive-rebounding team and that trend continued Wednesday night. Ranked seventh in the nation in offensive rebounding, the Golden Rams pulled down 26 offensive rebounds and attempted 26 more field goals than the Raiders (80-54) but only managed a 22-15 advantage in second-chance points.
SU out-scored WCU in the paint, 40-22.
Four Raiders finished in double figures and all eight players in uniform provided contributions along the way. Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank led all scorers with 25 points on an efficient 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Frank totaled 45 points in his two games against West Chester this season, shooting 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) from the field.
Junior
Timmy Conner scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting – his free throw with eight seconds left was the game's final point. Conner posted his third 20-point game of the season and has now scored in double figures in seven straight games. He added three rebounds, a team-high three steals and two assists.
Junior
Denzel Figueroa made his ninth career start and responded with his second career double-double. Figueroa scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds – one off his career high. Figueroa blocked three shots – giving him eight in the last two games – and matched a career high with three assists. He also made his fourth career three-pointer.
Freshman
Jaydon Smith reached double figures for the 16th time this season, totaling 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Smith made his first five field-goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers in the opening two minutes, and contributed 12 of his points during SU's opening 38-16 run. He added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Junior
Jalen Bowie delivered 26 integral minutes off the bench. Bowie scored eight points, handed out a season-high five assists, recorded a season-high four steals, grabbed four rebounds and equaled a career high with two blocks.
Junior
Trey Martin finished with four points and two assists. Redshirt-freshman
Jackson Boone had two points and two rebounds. Redshirt-freshman
Drew Sleva got 2:29 of action late in the first half and drew a charge, grabbed a rebound and assisted on a Bowie basket.
West Chester shot 15-of-34 (44.1 percent) from three-point range and just 14-of-46 (30.4 percent) from two-point range. The 15 three-pointers were a season high for the Golden Rams and five more than any other Raider opponent had made this season.
Anthony Purnell Jr. scored 19 points off the bench to lead four Golden Rams in double figures. Dylan Blair was 5-of-8 from three-point range and had 15 points. Elijah Allen had 15 points and nine rebounds; he and Purnell both made three three-pointers.
SU shot better from the field (31-of-54, 57.4 percent) than it did at the free-throw line (17-of-30, 56.7 percent) – the field-goal percentage is the team's second-best rate of the season. WCU was 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) at the free-throw line.
The Raiders improved to 2-6 this season in home games decided by five points or less.
Shippensburg begins a three-game road trip at 3 p.m. Saturday at East Stroudsburg.
