Shippensburg University’s men’s basketball team earned its first playoff victory since the 2005-2006 season with a thrilling basket by Abe Massaley as time expired, defeating rival Bloomsburg University 80-78. SU earned home-court advantage for the first-round PSAC Playoff game by defeating Bloomsburg University 84-77 on Wednesday night in the regular season finale.

The Raiders got off to a great start Saturday, scoring seven quick points before the Huskies got on the board. The Raiders would maintain a sizable lead throughout the first half, leading by 10 points or more throughout its entirety. SU even led by as much as 16 with 2:21 left to play in the half. The Raiders went into the break leading 47-37.

Tony Ellis, who tallied eight points and eight rebounds, led SU in the first half. Ellis was extremely efficient in the first half, going 4-7 from the floor. Justin McCarthur led the Raiders in points in the first half, scoring nine points, including three points from the charity stripe.

The second half is when Bloomsburg University clawed its way back into the game. The Huskies trailed by more than 10 for most of the second half before closing the gap to just nine points with 9:50 left in the game. The Raiders pushed the lead back up to 12 points behind a three-pointer by McCarthur, putting the Raiders on top 70-58 with 6:17 left to play.

The Raiders continued to hold off the Huskies throughout the second half, but were unable to put the Huskies away. The Raiders led 75-67 with 2:45 left to play, but the Huskies fought hard to attempt to tie the game. Bloomsburg University scored five straight points behind two unanswered baskets by Tyriek Steward. The Raiders led 75-72 with 1:28 left.

The Raiders pushed the lead back up to five points behind two free throws by Massaley, who put the Raiders in good position with only 35 seconds left to play. Then Steward knocked down a deep three to put the Huskies within striking distance. Two more Massaley free throws pushed the lead up to three. Christian Mortellite then got the ball in the corner and threw up an extremely contested deep three to tie and the ball soared through the air before finding the bottom of the net and tying the game at 78.

With seven seconds remaining SU coach Chris Fite decided not to call a timeout and the Raiders inbounded the ball to Massaley. Massaley drove the ball up the court and sprinted into the lane and found his way to the bucket, scoring an easy layup with .8 seconds left on the clock. Bloomsburg would get off one final shot but it was no good and the Raiders won the game 80-78.

The buzzer beater was Massaley’s second game-winning basket of the season, after knocking down a last-minute shot to defeat Seton Hill back on Dec. 5.

The Raiders’ victory led to celebration, with the win being a staple for the program. SU was led by Dustin Sleva and Massaley, with Sleva racking 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Massaley scored 17 points and tied his career-high in assists with 11. Massaley posted an impressive 11-2 assist-to-turnover ratio in the game. The Raiders also got a double-double out of Ellis, who scored 10 points and grabbed 11 boards. Eleven of 12 SU players scored in the playoff victory.

“It means a lot to come from 3-23 my freshman year to win a playoff game my junior year. It says a lot about what hard work can do,” Massaley said.

“I had one earlier this year and I had a couple in my high school career, but it feels really good to hit the game winning shot, especially in the playoffs. Definitely a good feeling,” Massaley said.

“It’s huge to get the first playoff win of my career and even the seniors’ careers since they never won one,” Sleva said.

“It’s nice to get that win out of the way. We are here to do something big and it was fun and everything, but we have to get Kutztown at their place and they left a sour taste in our mouth last time and we just have to go out and beat them, we’re on a mission, we’re trying to win PSACs.”

“It’s huge for the program to have a home playoff game and it's huge for us to get a win and advance into the quarter finals. I am so proud of this team and how hard that they’ve worked and the progress that we made. I’m happy for the seniors that they are able to have some success here on their way out and I’m really excited about the young talent that we have here and the future looks bright,” Fite said.

With the victory, the Raiders will travel to Kutztown University on Tuesday night to matchup with the PSAC Eastern Division regular season champion Golden Bears. SU and Kutztown University split their matchups this season with the Raiders knocking off the Golden Bears 78-70 at home on Dec. 19th and the Raiders falling to the Golden Bears in Kutztown, 81-78. The game ended with Abe Massaley getting a good look from three in attempt to tie the game, but Massaley’s shot did not fall and the Raiders lost the contest. The Raiders have not lost since the game in Kutztown Feb. 6th.

“It means a lot, especially in a game like the game we lost at Kutztown, which we thought we should’ve won. To get an opportunity to try and go back to their place and end their season that would be a good move for this team,” Massaley said.

“They know and I think they (Kutztown) are a little afraid of us this time. They beat us in the playoffs last year so we have a little chip on our shoulder coming out of this game so we are ready to show them who the real team is,” Sleva said.

“We said after that game that there was a good chance we would be coming back here and finish the game differently the next time and having beat them up here already and being in position to win down there, I think our guys are going to go into the game with a lot of confidence and we know that we have to play our best game to go out there and win a playoff game but I’m confident that we’re going to give it our best shot,” Fite said.

The Raiders are 19-8 on the season, and are looking to continue their season. The quarterfinal matchup is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. at Keystone Arena.

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