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Shippensburg falls short vs. Township


SHIPPENSBURG - In the opening game of the Hound Invitational Tournament, the Susquehanna Township Indians held off a late push by the Shippensburg Greyhounds to win 52-49.

Straight out of the gate it was obvious that both boys basketball teams were a little rusty from the days off thanks to the holidays, but as time went on the game picked up quickly.

The Greyhounds led by two points after the first quarter thanks to a hot start from sophomore guard Carter Van Scyoc, who scored seven points in the quarter. Van Scyoc ended up leading all scorers with 14 points.

The second quarter was much of the same for both teams until the final minute. The last minute before the half was full of foul shots by both teams as the two teams got into the bonus. Shippensburg senior forward Teagan Staver went to the line six times in that span, cashing in on four of them. However, three late Indian free throws brought the game to a tie right before the half.

Coming out of the half Susquehanna changed up their defensive approach and began to full-court press the Greyhounds, which led to a few hurried turnovers and a six-point Indians lead.

“When they started to press they gained some momentum,” Shippensburg coach Ray Staver said, “They started getting to the basket, whether it was their guards or their forwards and we struggled preventing it.”

On the very next possession the Greyhounds finally adapted to the press and Shuntan Hickman killed the momentum with a deep 3-pointer from five feet beyond the arc that ignited the Shippensburg crowd. Right after the three the Indians turned the ball over and Van Scyoc tied the game on another three that sent the crowd into even more of a frenzy.

It was during the first couple minutes of the fourth quarter that things got a little weird. With a two-point lead, Susquehanna coach Vince Rogers ordered his two guards to stand on opposite sides of the court near the halfway line and pass the ball back and forth.

For a good minute and a half the two teams stood still while the clock ran and the crowd booed until the Hounds finally resumed their trapping defense and pressured the ballhandlers.

“At that time it was only a one-possession game and our kids had played the entire half so I wasn’t worried about it,” Ray Staver said, “I’m not worried about a two-point game with three or four minutes left.”

After those two minutes Shippensburg struggled to catch the Indians. The Hounds had multiple steals that gave them chances to tie the game or bring it into a one-possession game, but poor free throw shooting and unlucky rolls on shots prevented them from coming back.

Ship plays Red Lion on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., with the Indians facing Octorara in the first game at 6.

Susquehanna Township 52, Shippensburg 49

Susquehanna Twp. (52)

Willie Davis 5-7 0-0 10, Bill Folk 3-9 2-4 10, Julian Mosley 4-7 2-2 10, Aeneas Carter 2-5 4-4 9, Jordan Lynch-Rexroth 4-6 0-0 8, Gerald Jarmin 2-4 0-0 4, Jordan McGraw 0-1 1-2 1  Totals — 20-44, 9-12

Shippensburg (49)

Carter Van Scyoc 5-10 1-4 14, Teagan Staver 2-5 6-10 10, Wade Mills 4-7 1-2 9, Cody Gustafson 2-4 5-6 9, Shuntan Hickman 2-5 1-4 7, Adam Houser 0-0 0-0, Payton Fridinger 0-0 0-0. Totals — 15-36 14-26.

Susquehanna Twp. _ 13 _ 10 _ 15 _ 14 _ — _ 52

Shippensburg _ 15 _ 8 _ 12 _ 14 _ — _ 49

3-point goals: ST 3 (Folk 2, Carter 1), Ship 5 (Van Scyoc 3, Hickman 2).