The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team took on PSAC East No. 2 West Chester University on a blistering cold Wednesday night at Heiges Field House, and could not take advantage of a hot first half start, collapsing in the second half en route to a 74–57 loss.
The Raiders started the game virtually matching the Golden Rams, bucket-for-bucket. The Raiders took their only lead of the game, 28–26 with 5:10 left in the first half off a free-throw by junior forward Dylan Edgar. SU came close with five minutes left to play in the first half when it tied the Golden Rams at 28. At the end of the first half, sophomore guard Reggie Charles had a team-high nine points. Sophomore guard Sam Pygatt had six first-half points as well. Despite the two’s collective effort, the Raiders went into halftime trailing WCU 35–33.
After the half, the Raiders cut the lead to a sole point, 42-41 but that is the closest they got to obtaining the lead. The Golden Rams began scoring at will on the Raider defense. Sloppy ball handling and poor rebounding were the key flaws in the Raiders’ loss. The Raiders could not find a rhythm in the second half. They began forcing passes and taking careless shots, leading to the Golden Rams taking control.
The Raiders were on a two-game winning streak coming into Wednesday night’s game. The loss putsthe Raiders at 4–12 overall and 2–10 in PSAC play. The Golden Rams are now 11–5 overall and 9–3 in the PSAC play after tonight’s win. SU will look to get back on the winning side of things when it faces No.1 PSAC East ranked East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, Jan. 26.
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