The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team held its final regular season home game at Heiges Field House on senior night Wednesday evening and honored their four seniors with a 66-59 win over Shepherd University.

Seniors Lamar Talley, Derek Ford, Daylon Carter and John Castello received a plaque and took a photo with their families before the game, and all four players started the game along with junior Jake Biss. This year’s group of seniors compiled the most wins for any single group of players in Shippensburg school history.

The Raiders (22-6, 18-4 PSAC) relied on their defense in the win as they held their opponent under 60 points for the fifth time this season. Shepherd only made four 3-pointers in the loss, even though they came in as the conference leaders in that category. 

Shepherd’s Thomas Lang came into the game leading the nation in 3-pointers with 104, but he was held scoreless by Talley and the Shippensburg defense.

“I take pride in my defense as far as me stopping the guy I got to stop and helping my team in the best way possible,” Talley said. “Tonight was about getting [Lang] out of the game, not letting him score and making it tough on him, and that’s what I did.”

Shippensburg overcame a tough shooting night as they shot 36% from the field and just 33% from beyond the 3-point line. 

Sophomore Luke Nedrow led the way for the Raiders offensively, posting 16 points and six rebounds. 

Biss scored 12 points on just 4-of-13 shooting, while Talley scored 11 points along with five rebounds and three assists. 

SU head coach Chris Fite spoke about the team’s group of seniors after the game. 

“All of our seniors have been tremendous and I’m really happy for them to get this win on senior night to get us back on track,” Fite said. “I’m hoping we have a lot more games together but I appreciate those guys.”

The Raiders moved on to Kutztown, where they ended the regular season with a 76-57 road win on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Carlos Carter matched his career high with 22 points and Castello added in a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Nedrow nearly achieved his first career double-double, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds. 

Shippensburg’s defense held yet another opponent to under 60 points and Kutztown only had one player score in double figures. 

The Raiders will finish the season 18-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and as the PSAC Eastern Division champions. They will host the winner of the PSAC Men’s Basketball Championship tournament first round matchup between Millersville University and Shepherd University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Heiges Field House.

Share