The Shippensburg University men’s basketball team suffered two road losses last week against Kutztown and East Stroudsburg. 

Shippensburg could not get past a vigilant Kutztown squad on Wednesday night, as it dropped a 72-66 decision to the Golden Bears in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division clash at Keystone Arena. 

Shippensburg got a game-high 22 points from sophomore Jaydon Smith, who was 7-of-12 from the field and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. Smith has totaled 52 points in his last two games, which includes making 21-of-22 at the charity stripe.

Kutztown (6-15, 3-13 PSAC) shot 47.5 percent from the field and committed just five turnovers. The Golden Bears made 8-of-10 shots in the final 7:08 of the first half to take a seven-point lead into halftime, 40-33. KU shot 55 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Senior Timmy Conner, starting in place of an injured Markus Frank, scored 13 points on 3-of-8 from three-point range.

Senior Trey Martin had a hot start and reached double figures for the second time this season. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added six rebounds.

On Saturday afternoon, Shippensburg fell 76-64 against a hot-shooting East Stroudsburg squad during a PSAC Eastern Division setback at Koehler Fieldhouse. 

Shippensburg (12-13, 7-11 PSAC) never trailed East Stroudsburg (18-7, 12-6) by more than 10 points in the opening half and was within five, 47-42, with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, but struggled to stop a Warrior squad down the stretch that shot 58.0 percent (29-of-50) overall from the field and 56.3 percent from three-point range.

Smith was the lead scorer for the Raiders shooting 5-10 from the field including three threes for 15 points. Smith has led the Raiders as the top scorer in the team’s past three games totaling 67 points during that stretch. 

Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Romero-Sanz netted a career-high 12 points off the bench shooting 5-7 from the field (71 percent) in a season-high 23 minutes. He grabbed four boards and recorded a career-best three steals defensively.

Conner finished with 12 points going 5-12 from field goal range and added two steals. Redshirt junior Michael Dickson totaled 11 points on 3-8 shooting and added four assists. 

Senior Denzel Figueroa added eight points and a team high seven rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Jackson Boone contributed four points and a career-high four assists off the SU bench.

ESU’s shooting percentage Saturday was the second highest allowed by the Raiders this season, only topped by the 58.2 percent shot by Shepherd in a loss Feb. 2.

Shippensburg will get an opportunity to rest thanks to a midweek bye and will return to action next Saturday when it hosts Mansfield for Senior Day at 3 p.m. at Heiges Field House.

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