A first half full of lead changes did not end well for the Shippensburg University men’s basketball team, who took on a tough Millersville University team Wednesday night inside MU’s Pucillo Gymnasium and ultimately fell to the Marauders 86–69 despite a 19-point performance from Reggie Charles.
The game started well for the Raiders as Charles notched two of his 19 points off a layup from a Tyhiem Perrin rebound.
MU’s Anthony Coleman quickly hit a 3-pointer and crushed the Raiders’ lead to put MU up 3–2.
SU regained the lead when Dylan Edgar dunked a well-placed pass from Charles to make it 4–3. Edgar finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds.
The Raiders lost the lead again but battled back after Charles finished a layup, putting the Raiders ahead 12–11 with 12:20 left in the first half.
The Marauders took the lead back, but SU’s Jay Hardy drained a three, allowing the Raiders to come within another three of regaining the lead. Hardy finished the night with 12 points.
Those three points slowly became six points and SU watched the lead grow larger, ultimately ending the half trailing MU by 10, 36–26.
Coming out of the locker room, the Raiders had lead feet. They allowed MU two-straight buckets. SU scored its first points of the second half when Edgar finished on a David Craig assist. Craig got his first start Wednesday against MU, he totaled eight points and two assists in 30 minutes of play.
MU dominated the rest of the game. SU did not come within eight points of the Marauders throughout the rest of the game. MU finally had complete control over the lead.
The Marauders controlled the rest of the game. SU ‘s fate was sealed. The Raiders could not finish layups and could not get the necessary rebounds en route to their 86–69 loss.
Despite the loss, SU will look for revenge on Saturday when it travels back to Millersville to face the Marauders once again in the first round of the PSAC playoffs at 8 p.m. For a complete look at the PSAC playoff bracket visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SLATESPORTS
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