The Shippensburg University Men's Basketball team rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup Wednesday at Keystone Arena, 76-70.
Shippensburg (9-17, 6-13 PSAC) held Kutztown (7-18, 3-15) to just 8-for-32 from the field (25 percent) to climb all the way back in the second half. Redshirt-sophomore
Markus Frank and freshman
Jaydon Smith led the way offensively with 18 points apiece.
The Golden Bears started out red-hot from the field, shooting 17-for-29 from the field in the first half (58.6 percent) to take a 41-31 lead at intermission.
The second half was a different story, as the SU defense held the hosts to 1-for-15 from the field during an 8-0 Raider run to take the lead, 53-52, with 10:54 remaining. Frank scored seven straight points for the visitors during that stretch.
Soon after, SU delivered another 12-2 spurt that stretched the advantage to double-digits, 70-60, thanks in part to a pair of Smith threes.
The two spurts were part of a greater 25-to-8 SU late second half surge. Overall in the final 20 minutes, Shippensburg out-scored Kutztown 45-to-29.
Junior
Denzel Figueroa aided SU's 42-to-33 overall advantage on the glass with a career-high 15 boards. He also added nine points and three blocks.
Junior
Trey Martin went 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) overall from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, totaling 13 points.
Junior
Jalen Bowie added eight points and a team-high five assists.
Frank shot 63.6 percent from the field (7-for-11) for the game and registered eight rebounds.
Jalen Bryant led five Golden Bear players in double figures with 16 points. He also tallied four assists.
The Raiders are back in action next Wednesday at Shepherd. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
