The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team’s magical season came to an end Sunday after the Raiders fell to Wheeling Jesuit University 97–91 in the Atlantic Region Semifinal.
The Raiders shot more than 52 percent from the field and held a 15-point lead with 12:51 left to play, but were unable to hold on after a strong push by the Cardinals.
In the first half both teams traded baskets in an extremely high-paced game. The lead changed hands 18 times, with 13 of those changes occurring in the first 10 minutes of play.
Dustin Sleva led the charge for the Raiders early, scoring 15 points in the first half.
The Raiders trailed at halftime 48–44, but came out of the half looking to do some damage. SU rode the momentum of a 27–8 scoring run to give the Raiders a 15-point lead, before Wheeling Jesuit rolled to a 7–0 run to bring the Cardinals within eight points.
The Raiders pushed the lead back to 10 points, but Wheeling Jesuit used another 7–0 run to bring the game within three points with 8:29 left to play.
Wheeling Jesuit found its stride, and SU was unable to answer, as the Cardinals continued to knock down contested shots, taking a 90–83 lead with 1:11 left.
The Raiders fought hard, but were unable to knock down shots and convert last-minute chances. Sleva fouled out with 3:25 left to play and the offense went cold, sealing the game for Wheeling Jesuit.
“It’s disappointing,” said SU head coach Chris Fite. “It hurts. We had a great year and a great run and I felt like for a good part of the evening we put ourselves in a good position to win this game. A lot of things went against us down the stretch. Unfortunately, we came up a little short.”
For the Raiders, Sleva led the way with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, to go along with six assists. Justin McCarthur scored 21 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, and 6-of-12 from the field. McCarthur also had three assists and three steals. Antonio Kellem scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
With his 22 points, Sleva totaled 674 points this season, breaking the single-season points record. Sleva also finished with 105 assists, which is good for 15th in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Sleva was the only player in the PSAC to average a double-double throughout the regular season, averaging 21.7 points and 11 rebounds.
Abe Massaley’s storied career came to an end with the loss, after he contributed 19 points on three 3-pointers, adding five assists. Massaley, the first recruit of Fite, finished his career with 1,417 points, which ties for sixth in SU history. Massaley also added 496 assists, which is second in SU history.
The Raiders’ historical season came to an end, and SU finished with 27 wins and 2,614 points, both school records. SU also shattered the single-season 3-point mark with 317 3-pointers, while also setting a new team free-throw percentage mark of 78.6 percent. It is by far the best season in school history, and a season in which SU won its first ever NCAA Tournament game over Virginia Union.
“It’s been a tremendous ride,” Fite said. “There is a fine line to taking it one game at a time, and also being able to appreciate and acknowledge what you’re achieving along the way. We’ve had fun with it, we’re very aware of the new ground we are breaking but we also knew we needed to take it one game at a time. It’s mixed emotions right now because I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished, but we feel like we should still be playing.”
Fite finished by expressing his pride in the team’s accomplishments.
“I’ve got nothing but pride and love for my team,” Fite said. “They’ve exceeded my expectations by far. They certainly have raised the bar for Shippensburg basketball. Hopefully we can keep moving forward.”
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