A late rally by the Shippensburg University men's basketball team led the Raiders to a 67-65 win over the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team Wednesday night at Heiges Fieldhouse in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
The Griffins fall to 0-4 on the season with the loss. Shippensburg improves to 2-1.
Chestnut Hill led by five, 63-58 with 4:27 remaining in the game before the cut the lead to one withing a one-minute span with two quick baskets. A short jumper in the paint from Alejandro Redondo Cybak put the Griffins back up by three 65-62 with 2:39 left. A steal and a layup by SU's Michael Dickson again brought the Raiders within one and another steal led to Dickson making one of two from the free throw line, tying the game at 65-65 with 1:25 left. Shippensburg's Marcus Frank added two free throws with 36 seconds left to put the Raiders ahead for the first time since the 15:40 mark of the second half. The Griffins had two chances to tie the game with Kamal Lee's three point attempt at the buzzer falling short as the Raiders held on for the win.
Cybak led all scorers with 23 points (9-13 FG, 2-3 3FG) and 11 rebounds. Amari Dow added 12 points (6-9 FG) and six rebounds. Lee chipped in nine points(3 3pt. FG) and three steals. Malcolm Day led the team with three assists.
Frank led the Raiders with 17 points while Jaydon Smith and Dickson added 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Raiders scored the first seven points of the game and jumped out to an early 11-1 lead before the Griffins used a 10-2 run to pull back within two 13-11 at the midway point of the period. Cybak and Lee highlighted the run with three point field goals. A 10-3 run by the Raiders late in the half gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game 31-20 with 1:57 left. Chestnut Hill scored the final seven points of the half on baskets from Dow, Jeremiah Gorham and a three-point basket at the buzzer from Lee to trail by four 31-27 at halftime.
SU led 36-30 early in the second half when the Griffins exploded with a 13-4 run to take their first lead of the game 43-40 with 14 minutes left. After both teams exchanged baskets the Griffins got back-to-back three-point baskets from Landon Shivers and Camden Burns along with a basket from Cybak as part of an 8-1 spurt to give the Griffins a double-digit lead 53-43 at the midway point of the second half.
The Raiders followed with a 13-4 run to cut the lead to one 57-56 with 6:29 left. Both teams exchanged scores until Cybak's layup at 4:27 gave the Griffins a five point lead before Shippensburg's made their final push to win the game.
For the game, the Griffins had the slight shooting edge (25-56, 44.6%) to SU's (28-66, 42.4%). Chestnut Hill made nine three-point baskets (9-24, 37.5%)_ while Shippensburg made two (2-14, 14.3%). Both teams grabbed 37 rebounds while the Raiders committed just eight turnovers (CHC-16), leading to an 11-5 advantage for the Raiders in the points off turnovers category.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 22, 2025 for their 2025-26 home opener when they host Mercy University at Sorgenti Arena. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
