Saturday’s matchup between the Shippensburg University men’s basketball team and Kutztown University was much more than a date on the calendar.

The game represented a battle between the top teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division and was also a rematch of the 2017 PSAC Championship game.

There was no love lost in the opening minutes as both teams exchanged baskets, before scoring runs before and after halftime sprung the game in favor of the Raiders, as SU (15-3, 11-2 PSAC) received double-doubles from forwards Dustin Sleva and John Castello in an 88-80 win over Kuztown (14-4, 10-4 PSAC) at Heiges Field House on Saturday.

Sleva finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to record his 12th double-double of the season. It was his 42nd career double-double. Castello had a big night of his own with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

“Our bigs were tough tonight,” SU coach Chris Fite said. “John and Dustin were flying around. Manny made some real tough plays for us tonight. It was a great team effort.”

With the game tied at 19 with 9:33 remaining in the first half, SU closed the period on a 24-8 run to take a 14-point lead into halftime. 

Kutztown wasted no time responding, starting the second half on a 10-2 run before SU punched back with a 13-2 run of its own to push its lead to 17 points.

Sleva answered the Golden Bear run, as he knocked down a 3-pointer from the right-hand corner as the first half came to an end and hit the floor hard but was not able to draw the foul. In the opening minutes of the second half, Sleva knocked down another 3-pointer from the opposite side, drawing the contact and completing the four-point play to spark an SU run.

The Raiders coasted the rest of the way, leading by as many as 16 points with 39 seconds remaining.

“When coach calls those plays for me I know I’m shooting it, so I make sure to get my feet right and my hands right on the ball and shoot it if I get any space at all,” Sleva said. “I knew that going in.”

Defensively the Raiders had an outstanding showing, holding the Division II assist leader in Ethan Ridgeway to just four assists, while limiting the nation’s top 3-point shooter in Anthony Lee to 0-of-4 from 3-point range on the night. Rideway was limited by SU’s Clay Conner and Justin McCarthur to just 14 points and three assists. Lee had 11 points.

“Clay Conner and J-Mac locked up their best players,” Sleva said. “That’s the game right there. J-Mac put clamps on Anthony Lee and that was huge. J-Mac was an MVP tonight for what he did on defense.”

Blocked shots were also a factor for the SU defense, as Sleva and Castello both had big nights with two blocks, each. Castello contributed what may have been the block of the night, coming across the left side of the court to stuff Ridgeway in transition. Sleva had an equally impressive block on Moe Williams in the final minutes.

“It did give us energy,” Castello said. “Sometimes you get beat in transition. I’m not the fastest guy, so in transition I try to make the play and come in from behind. Luckily I made a couple of those tonight.”

McCarthur also contributed offensively with 17 points, including 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Antonio Kellem was also extremely effective, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

With the win, SU improved to 11-0 on its home court this season and 38-3 in its last 41 home games. The large home crowd energized the Raiders in the win, as a packed Heiges Field House was rocking from the opening tip.

For SU, getting home court for the PSAC Tournament would be monumental, given its success at home in recent seasons.

“It would be huge,” Sleva said. “We had a nice crowd tonight and we feed off that energy. It would be nice to get some more people in here and try to make it standing room only.”

With his impressive night, Castello continued his dominance of Kutztown dating back to last season, where he scored 23 points and added 18 rebounds in his first ever game against the Golden Bears.

“With this being a rivalry game and playing them twice every year and not having the best relationship with them gets everyone going,” Castello said. “It’s getting me going and excited to play every time.”

SU has controlled the series with Kutztown in recent years, as SU improved to 4-1 in the last five against the Golden Bears dating back to the PSAC Quarterfinals in 2015 when guard Abe Massaley knocked down a free-throw line jumper to win the game.

“We have been playing with these guys for four years and they always give us a battle,” Sleva said. “It’s tough and it’s a rivalry. They are a real tough and physical team. We just took it to them.”

The Raiders defeated PSAC East rival Bloomsburg University 75-65 on Wednesday night, as the Raiders rode a terrific start to a big road victory. McCarthur had a great night, scoring 19 points and knocking down three 3-pointers. He moved into the Top 10 on SU’s career points list in the win.

“Overall, I think that it’s a good accomplishment,” McCarthur said. 

While McCarthur mentioned that it was not his goal to crack the Top 10 in points when he arrived, he said he wants to leave a legacy at SU and he deflected the accomplishment to his teammates and coaches.

“Without them believing in me and giving me the freedom to make plays for myself and for them, I couldn’t be in that situation,” he said.

The team looks to continue its run on Wednesday night as East Stroudsburg travels to Heiges Field House to battle SU. The Warriors defeated the Raiders on Jan. 3 and are the last team to get the best of SU. The game will be a matchup of the Top 2 teams in the PSAC East.

“It was definitely good to get another win in conference, but we need to look ahead to East Stroudsburg,” Castello said. “They’re coming into our place and already got a win against us, so we need to step it up against them.”

SU hosts East Stroudsburg (14-4, 11-3 PSAC) on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.

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