Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Dane Lauber scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 49 seconds left, as Shippensburg ended East Stroudsburg University's four-game winning streak with a 67-63 win in PSAC East men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Junior forward Duane Johnson (15 points, seven rebounds) and junior guard Russell Graham III (14 points, five assists) led ESU, which had scored more than 80 points in all four of its wins over the last two weeks, including three on the road.

ESU (15-9, 11-7 PSAC), which won the first meeting 69-64 at Shippensburg (9-15, 6-12) on January 21, remains in a tie for second in the PSAC East with Kutztown and one game behind Bloomsburg. Each of the division's top three teams lost on Saturday, with Millersville upsetting Kutztown 77-67 and West Chester knocking off Bloomsburg 74-71 to pull within one game of the tie for second place.

The Warriors led 33-32 after a 5-0 Shippensburg run to close the first half, but opened a seven-point lead early in the second period before the Raiders closed the gap. A layup by Dylan Edgar (13 points) gave Shippensburg its first lead of the second half, 54-52, with 8:03 remaining and neither team led by more than four the rest of the way.

ESU took the lead back on a dunk by junior forward Terrance King a minute later, while Shippensburg answered back with a bucket by Will Royal (16 points, eight rebounds) to go ahead 56-55 with just under six minutes left.

The Warriors scored the next five points, with a three-point play by junior guard Gerald Bridges, Jr. after a steal and assist from Graham and a layup by Johnson after a block by King at the other end, to take a 60-56 lead with just over three minutes remaining.

The Raiders went back inside to Royal on two of their next three possessions to tie the game at 60-60 with 1:22 remaining. Johnson gave ESU a one-point lead after making the second of two free throws with 1:05 left, but Lauber's three-pointer – which hit the front of the rim before making its way through the net – put Ship ahead 63-61 in the final minute.

Johnson's drive to tie the game rolled out and Royal ended up with the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to make it 65-61 with 22 seconds left. Graham scored a quick layup to cut it to two and the Warriors fouled freshman Sam Pygatt, who made both at the line to put Shippensburg back up by four. A three by Johnson was no good in the last 10 seconds, ending ESU's chances of extending its winning streak to five games.

In the first half, ESU took an early 15-6 lead with Johnson scoring the last six points of an 8-0 run. Shippensburg closed within 17-16 on a putback by Craig Van Scyoc (five points, eight rebounds) and went ahead 23-20 with 6:50 left to end a 12-3 run.

ESU came back with a 13-4 spurt, including two three-pointers by Bridges and another from Johnson, to take a 33-27 lead but Van Scyoc's three-pointer in the last 15 seconds closed the margin to one at halftime.

Lauber, who was 7-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the three-point line, led a Shippensburg bench that scored 27 points, including 16 of its 35 points in the second half. The starting frontcourt of Royal (16) and Edgar (13) were also in double figures. Shippensburg, the PSAC's top field goal percentage team, shot 53.1 percent (26-49) for the game and 61.9 percent (13-21) in the second half.

ESU had 11 steals on 18 Shippensburg turnovers for a 19-12 advantage in points off turnovers, but the Raiders led 18-7 in second-chance points despite ESU's 15-8 edge in offensive rebounds.

Senior forward Eric Bryan and Bridges both had nine points for the Warriors, who had put at least four players in double figures in every game during their four-game winning streak.

ESU can clinch its sixth trip to the PSAC Tournament in seven years with a win over Millersville on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse. The Warriors won the first meeting at Millersville, 88-76, on January 18 with King recording a career-high 26 points along with 12 rebounds.


GAME NOTES
* ESU is 8-2 against Shippensburg in the last 10 meetings since 2006. Shippensburg had won 11 of the previous 12 meetings from 1998 through 2005.