The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team held an 8-point lead on Saturday entering halftime, but it wasn’t enough as PSAC East Rival Lock Haven outscored them by 19 points in the second half to defeat the Raiders 74-63.

Shippensburg (12-13, 8-13 PSAC) entered the second half with a 31-23 lead, but turnovers, the inability to land shots and faulty defense resulted in Lock Haven commencing the second period with a 37-13 run in the first 12:30 minutes of play. Lock Haven (10-15, 10-11 PSAC) went on to outscore the Raiders 51-32 in the second period.

Sophomore guard Abe Massaley was the Raiders’ standout player, finishing the game with a team-high 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, 2 steals and a block. Senior Dylan Edgar scored 12 points and added seven rebounds while freshman Justin McCarthur scored 12 points and dished four assists.

Junior Tony Ellis finished the game tying a season-high nine rebounds and scored six points including a buzzer beater to close the first half.

The Raiders outrebounded Lock Haven 36-34, but the Bald Eagles’ efficient shooting proved too much for the Raiders to overcome. Lock Haven sunk 20-of-51 shots (39.2 percent), compared to the Raiders’ 19-of-57 (33.3 percent) from the floor. Lock haven also converted a higher percentage of free throws (91 percent) compared to Shippensburg (80 percent) and committed less turnovers.

The Raiders’ 15th loss this season prevents them from controlling their own destiny, but still allows them to contest for a spot in the PSAC playoffs. In order to make it into the postseason, Shippensburg must defeat Cheyney in the regular-season finale Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Heiges Field house and have West Chester defeat Mansfield that same day.

If Shippensburg wins and Mansfield loses on Wednesday, the Raiders would earn the tiebreaker over Mansfield by finishing the season with a better record against West Chester and having identical records against both Kutzown and East Stroudsburg.

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