The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team defeated the Cheyney Wolves 89-82 Saturday for its second straight win, capitalizing on a 56-point second half and a season-best 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
The Red Raiders (10-8, 6-8 PSAC East) saw five players score in double figures on the night. Freshman forward Dustin Sleva shot 8-for-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe for a career-high 22 points, picking up six rebounds as well.
Senior Dylan Edgar lit up the Wolves’ defense for 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, joining a season-high Raider effort of 26 foul shots on the night, an 81.3 percent success rate.
Freshman Justin McCarthur posted 17 points on the day, picking up five assists in his 14th double-digit performance on the season. The standout first-year guard has averaged 13.6 points through his first 18 games.
Junior Jay Hardy picked up 11 points on a 3-of-5 3-point effort, and sophomore guard Abe Massaley also had a solid night for the Raiders with his 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Raiders fell behind early in the first half as Cheyney jumped to a 16-5 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half. Shippensburg was slowly able to cut the deficit to single digits ending the half on a 10-6 run trailing the Wolves 40-33.
Shippensburg started the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 43-42 lead. The Wolves fought hard in the second half and even tied the game late in the half, but the Red Raiders were able to maintain control.
Shippensburg was able to maintain control of the second half thanks in large part to their shooting and defense. The Raiders shot 75 percent from the field while holding the Wolves to 43.2 percent.
The Red Raiders hope to maintain their good play and improve their win streak to three games when Bloomsburg University visits Heiges Field House for a 3 pm. tipoff this Saturday.
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