The Shippensburg University men's basketball team could not find the bottom of the net in the final eight minutes on Wednesday night as it dropped its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener at Bloomsburg, 71-67.
Shippensburg (6-7, 1-5) shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and led for 18 of the opening 20 minutes but maintained just a three-point advantage at halftime, 41-38. SU opened the second half with a 14-7 run to gain the largest lead of the game by either team, 55-45, at the 13:45 mark.
Bloomsburg (3-9, 1-5), which started out the second half 1-of-7 from the field, responded by making eight of its next nine field-goal attempts. The Huskies, whose only lead in the game had been a two-point advantage for a 16-second stretch early in the contest, went ahead briefly 65-63 at the 4:08 mark before SU tied it back up with a
Markus Frank layup on the next possession.
Over the final 7:30 of the game, a virtual lid-lock was in effect. Bloomsburg made just 2-of-10 shots down the stretch, but Shippensburg finished the game 1-of-16 from the field in the same span. The lay-up by Frank proved to be the final made bucket for the Raiders.
Despite falling behind by five points in the final minute, Shippensburg did get a chance to tie it.
Timmy Conner rebounded a Husky miss with 25 seconds left but was injured and cut on the play, resulting in
Trey Martin coming off the bench to make a pair of free throws that made the score 70-67.
After a timeout, the Raiders forced a turnover on the ensuing in-bounds pass, but a hurried three-pointer missed the mark. Xion Nichols made 1-of-2 free throws at the other end, and SU could not find the equalizer.
The Huskies, who led for just 2:44 overall, ultimately outscored the Raiders 13-4 in the final eight minutes.
Frank finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting; it was his fourth straight 20-point game and ninth of the season.
Jaydon Smith added 15 points; Conner and
Michael Dickson each finished with seven points.
Jackson Boone grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to lead all players.
Bloomsburg stayed close by shooting 50 percent in the first half and making 8-of-15 (53 percent) from three-point range. Ries Naugle, the Huskies' leading scorer, delivered 15 points in the first half (including 3-of-3 from three-point range) and finished with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds.
Thaddeus Lee, who had scored just 25 points all season entering Wednesday's game, made his only field-goal attempt of the first half and then erupted in the second half by making seven straight shots, including a pair of three-pointers. Lee's career game resulted in 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds, as the Husky bench (35 points) nearly matched the output of their starting five (36 points).
Shippensburg outscored the hosts in the paint, 44-26, but was outrebounded 29-17 in the second half and 45-34 overall. Bloomsburg scored 14 second-chance points to SU's four.
The Raiders only committed a season-low six turnovers, yet the Huskies finished with an 11-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Nelson Field House continues to be a house of horrors for Shippensburg, as Bloomsburg has won the home half of the season series in each of the last three years despite not having won at Heiges Field House since December 2013.
Shippensburg concludes a four-game road trip at 4 p.m. Saturday at West Chester.
