SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — The ESU men's basketball team had its five-game winning streak snapped after a late jump shot gave Shippensburg a two-point lead, as the Raiders would hold on to win 82-80. ESU fell to 6-4 in conference and 12-5 overall.
NOTABLES
- Jalen Pichardo recorded his third-straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Pichardo did most of his rebounding work on the defensive end, coming down with seven while going 5-7 from the field on the other end of the floor.
- Adrian Brito was the Warriors' leading scorer, doing all of his damage in the first half.
- Carson Howard played a pivotal role down the stretch, coming up with a couple of key offensive rebounds. Howard finished the game with seven total rebounds and five offensive rebounds, rounding out his stat line with 10 points, three assists, and a block.
- Ethan Millirons had a standard day for him, going 2-3 on three-pointers, but made two shots inside the arc as well. Millirons ended the day with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Raiders took advantage of a slow start by the Warriors, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first minute and a half. ESU got on the board two minutes in after an offensive rebound and layup by Pichardo, but Shippensburg would extend its lead to double-digits just 4:19 into the game with a 15-4 advantage.
- After the deficit reached 25-11, a couple of minutes later, the Warriors went on a run to take the lead. Howard secured an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, leading to a layup from Terrell Pitts. Pitts then forced a turnover on Shippensburg's next possession, which ended in two points for Brito. Brito, Payne, and Maynard scored the last eight of ESU's 12-straight points, and three-pointers from Brito and Payne tied the game, then gave the Warriors their first advantage of the game to lead 31-30 in the final five minutes of the half.
- The lead changed nearly every other basket to end the half, with neither team being able to lead by more than one possession, as the Raiders carried a 39-38 lead into the break.
- Shippensburg scored the first five points of the half, extending its lead and creating a buffer that would allow it to stay ahead for the majority of the second half. ESU retook the lead just past the midway point for the first time in the final frame, jumping in front 62-60 off a Pichardo layup with 9:16 remaining.
- The Raiders responded with a 10-0 run, capitalizing on ESU misses and getting out in transition to fuel their offense, taking a 75-68 lead with 5:31 left before a pair of free throws by Griffin got the Warriors back on the board. ESU came out of the final media timeout trailing by six, but a second-chance three-pointer by Millirons and a free-throw line jumper by Payne made it a one-point game. After getting a stop and trying a fastbreak three-pointer, Howard came running down the floor to secure the offensive rebound and make the putback, giving the Warriors a 79-78 lead with 1:15 remaining.
- On the final possession for Shippensburg, the Warriors prevented the Raiders from finding a clean look. However, with the shot clock winding down, Michael Dickson hit a running floater from just inside the arc with eight seconds remaining to give the Raiders the lead. The Warriors had two chances at a game-tying or game-winning basket, but a missed three-pointer and a second-chance layup wouldn't go, allowing Shippensburg to hold on.
UP NEXT
The Warriors have a three-day break in their schedule between today and their next game, returning to Koehler Fieldhouse to host Lock Haven at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
