SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Shepherd University (7-4) ended the game on a 6-0 run en route to a 74-67 win over 25th-ranked Shippensburg (11-3) in men's basketball action at Shippensburg on Wednesday night. The win snapped a 27-game home winning streak for the Raiders that dated back to Feb. 1, 2017 versus Kutztown.
Senior guard Derek McKnight (Teaneck, NJ/Gaston (N.C.) Day School/Louisburg CC) led the Rams with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Freshman guard Jon Preston (Brandywine, Md./Rock Creek Christian) contributed 12 points and six boards and sophomore forward Kyle Daggett (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville) tossed in a career-high 11 points behind a 3-of-4 effort from three-point range.
Junior guard Thomas Lang (New Market, Md./Linganore) added 10 points, while freshman forward Emmanuel Aghayere (Reston, Va./South Lakes) hauled down a team and career-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jarrell Jones (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg/Alderson Broaddus) added seven points, three rebounds, and two assists in his debut for the Rams.
Antonio Kellem scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed eight boards to lead the Raiders. Manny Span and Jake Biss each added 12 points, while John Castello had 10 points and grabbed game-high 14 rebounds.
Shepherd opened the game on a 22-11 run and held a 41-31 advantage at the break.
The game featured nine ties and six lead changes. Shepherd lead for 31:03 during the contest.
Shippensburg took its last lead of the contest at 64-62 after a pair of free throws by Kellem with 4:21 remaining. Shepherd took the lead for good at 68-66 after a layup by McKnight with 2:19 left. Lang banked in a three-pointer and McKnight sunk 3-of-4 foul shots down the stretch to seal the win for the Rams.
Shepherd connected on 42.2 percent (27-64) from the floor with a 37 percent (10-27) performance from beyond the arc for the game. The Rams hit on 76.9 percent (10-13) of their free throws.
Shippensburg shot 31.3 percent (21-67) from the floor with a 34.6 percent effort (9-26) from three-point range. The Raiders shot 69.6 percent (16-23) from the charity stripe.
Shippensburg had a 45-44 edge in rebounding. The Rams forced two turnovers and committed four.
The Rams return to action on Saturday when they travel to Lincoln University for a 4 p.m. contest.
