The Raiders reeled off magical victories in the first and second rounds of the PSAC playoffs, but once the Shippensburg University men’s basketball team arrived in West Chester, its luck ran out.

The Raiders fell to the Mercyhurst University Lakers in the PSAC semifinals, 79-68. The Lakers were unconscious from three-point range in the second half, knocking down nine threes in the half. The Raiders led at halftime, but they were unable to draw close enough to continue their impressive run.

SU had an early 15-7 lead in the game and carried a strong start into halftime, where they led 37-31. That is when the Lakers found their stride. The Lakers were led by Gerrae Williams, who scored 20 points —12 of those points were from behind the arc.

The Raiders were led once again by Dustin Sleva, who led the team for most of the season. Sleva scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss, something that he has done all season. Sleva consistently picked up double-doubles this season, ranking near the top of Division II in double-doubles.

SU also got a strong contribution from senior Jay Hardy, who scored 16 points with 15 of them coming from three-point range. Hardy shot an impressive 5-8 from the three in what could be his final game.

“Obviously, we're disappointed. Across the board we have played really well leading up to here and I think the guys really competed tonight and we just ran into a hot team,” said SU head coach Chris Fite.

Despite the loss, the Raiders can be proud of the season that the team has had. The loss to Mercyhurst was the first loss for SU basketball in nearly a month — the last loss came on Feb. 6 at Kutztown University. The Raiders avenged the loss with an upset victory over Kutztown University in the PSAC quarterfinals.

“All in all, I told our guys that they need to walk out of here with their heads high. We feel like we’ve really done ourselves and the school proud this year and we’ve raised the bar for Shippensburg basketball,” Fite said.

The Raiders have an extremely young core that includes sophomore forward Dustin Sleva, who averaged 15.8 points and 11 rebounds per game this season. Junior guard Abe Massaley will also be returning for his senior season. Massaley was a key piece in the PSAC playoffs, knocking down two game-winning shots in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Massaley averaged 13.6 points per game and has also tallied 135 assists on the season.

“We also battle back from when we’re down. Everyone comes together as a team. It’s a mentality. We are a tough team and we are going to come back no matter what,” Sleva said.

SU finished their season with an impressive 20-9 record. The Raiders are waiting to see if the team will receive a bid to the 2016 Division II NCAA Tournament. The Raiders were ranked 10th in the most recent Atlantic Region Rankings and the top 10 teams from each region are granted an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will air Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. 

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