Shippensburg Wins PSAC Men's Basketball Championship
INDIANA, Pa. --- The Shippensburg Raiders claimed the 2017 PSAC Men’s Basketball Championship against the Kutztown Golden Bears, 73-63, Sunday afternoon at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex in Indiana, Pa.
SU improved to 26-3 on the year while KU fell to 26-3.
The Golden Bears entered the week at No. 5 in the nation while the Raiders sat at No. 13.
Ship senior Abe Massaley was named the tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 21 points.
The Raiders won their second title in school history and first since 1991. It marked the first appearance in the title game for SU since 2010.
Both teams relied on the deep ball and combined to go 12-of-53 from behind the arc in the contest.
SU freshman John Castello impressed with a double-double after turning in 11 points and 11 rebounds.
KU’s Ryan Connolly paced the team with 14 points and eight rebounds.
IUP entered the week at No. 2 in the nation and in the Atlantic Region. KU was No. 3 in the region and No. 5 in the nation. Ship entered the week at No. 5 in the Atlantic and 13 in the country while East Stroudsburg claimed the No. 10 spot in the region.
The top eight teams from the region advance to play in the NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship.
SU earned the PSAC’s automatic bid to the tournament.
FINAL - March 5 - (at IUP)
No. 2 (E) Shippensburg 73, No. 1 (E) Kutztown 63
Box Score
Shippensburg Recap
Kutztown Recap
SEMIFINALS - March 4 (at IUP)
No. 1 (E) Kutztown 91, No. 2 (W) Gannon 85 (OT)
Box Score
Kutztown Recap
Gannon Recap
No. 2 (E) Shippensburg 90, No. 1 (W) IUP 87 (OT)
Box Score
Shippensburg Recap
IUP Recap
QUARTERFINALS - March 1
No. 1 (E) Kutztown 114, No. 4 (E) West Chester 93
Box Score
Kutztown Recap
West Chester Recap
No. 1 (W) IUP 69, No. 4 (W) Mercyhurst 53
Box Score
IUP Recap
Mercyhurst Recap
No. 2 (E) Shippensburg 85, No. 3 (E) East Stroudsburg 71
Box Score
SHIP Recap
ESU Recap
No. 2 (W) Gannon 77, No. 3 (W) Pitt-Johnstown 67
Box Score
Gannon Recap
UPJ Recap
1ST ROUND - February 27
No. 3 (E) East Stroudsburg 106, No. 6 (E) Lock Haven 87
Box Score
East Stroudsburg Recap
Lock Haven Recap
No. 5 (E) West Chester 84, No. 4 (E) Bloomsburg 77
Box Score
West Chester Recap
Bloomsburg Recap
No. 3 (W) Pitt-Johnstown 112, No. 6 (W) Seton Hill 53
Box Score
Pitt-Johnstown Recap
Seton Hill Recap
No. 4 (W) Mercyhurst 88, No. 5 (W) Slippery Rock 73
Box Score
Mercyhurst Recap
Slippery Rock Recap
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament 12-team field has been set following the conclusion of the regular season Saturday.
The top six teams from each division earned an opportunity to win the PSAC Men’s Basketball Championship while the top two teams from each division earned a first-round bye.
The highest remaining seed from the West will host the semifinals and finals.
In the West, The IUP Crimson Hawks earned the No. 1 seed while riding a 17-game win streak into the tournament and boasting the No. 2 ranking in DII. IUP sports a 26-2, 21-1 PSAC record and will host the winner of No. 4 Mercyhurst and No. 5 Slippery Rock Wednesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Mercyhurst battles SRU Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in a first-round game.
MU looks to continue its late season run after winning five of its final seven contests. The Lakers won the tournament in 2016.
SRU enters play with a 14-14 mark and holds its opponents to 33.7% from behind the arc.
The Gannon Golden Knights grabbed the No. 2 seed after posting a 17-9 regular season mark. GU hosts the winner of No. 3 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 6 Seton Hill.
UPJ has won four straight and five of its last six while scoring at least 75 points in the wins.
SHU’s Spencer Casson leads the PSAC in blocks by a land slide, averaging 4.2 per contest.
In the East, Kutztown owns the No. 1 seed and No. 6 ranking in DII. The Golden Bears finished the regular season with 16 consecutive wins. KU will host the winner of No. 4 Bloomsburg and No. 5 West Chester.
BU enters play with an overall record of 15-11. WCU sits fourth in the conference in scoring at an 83.1 clip.
The Shippensburg Raiders claimed the No. 2 seed after posting a 23-3, 19-3 mark. SHIP’s Dustin Sleva is the only player in the PSAC averaging a double-double with 21.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per contest.
SU will host the winner of No. 3 East Stroudsburg and No. 6 Lock Haven Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
ESU averages 88.3 points per contest while Rasheed Moore paces the offense with 18 points per game.
LHU enters the postseason winners of three of the last four and will sport freshman Amir Hinton. Hinton leads the league in scoring with 24.2 points per contest.
The tournament winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Monday, February 27 - 1st Round
No. 6 East Lock Haven at No. 3 East East Stroudsburg, 7 p.m.
No. 5 East West Chester at No. 4 East Bloomsburg, 7 p.m.
No. 6 West Seton Hill at No. 3 West Pitt-Johnstown, 7 p.m.
No. 5 West Slippery Rock at No. 4 West Mercyhurst, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 1 - Quarterfinals
Winner of Bloom/WCU at No. 1 East Kutztown, 7 p.m.
Winner of Mercyhurst/SRU at No. 1 West IUP, 7:30 p.m.
Winner of ESU/Lock Haven at No. 2 East Shippensburg, 7:30 p.m.
Winner of Seton Hill/UPJ at No. 2 West Gannon, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 4 - Semifinals (Highest remaining West Seed hosts)
Semifinal 1 will be at 1 p.m.
Semifinal 2 will be at 3:30 p.m. (highest remaining west seed)
Sunday, March 5 - Final
Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2, 3 p.m.