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Sean Christiansen matched his career high with 22 points and Adeniyi Amadou set a career best with 16 rebounds in a 72-62 loss at Shippensburg, but despite the defeat, IUP's hopes for a berth in the PSAC playoffs remained alive. IUP dropped to 12-14 overall and 4-7 in the PSAC West with its fifth straight loss. However, the Crimson Hawks stayed in a tie for fourth in the division with Slippery Rock, which lost to California on Wednesday. Should IUP and Slippery Rock finish in a tie for fourth, the Crimson Hawks will claim a spot in the playoffs. Christiansen also scored 22 points in an early season with over Bloomsburg. On Wednesday, he hit six 3-pointers, two shy of the school record, while also dishing out three assists. Darryl Webb was the only other Crimson Hawk to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points. IUP scored 39 of its 62 points on the strength of 13 3-pointers in 28 attempts while the Raiders made 12 of 28 from long distance. Shippensburg ended its season at 8-19 and 2-10 but won its final two games of the year. The Raiders shot 52 percent from the field overall and committed only eight turnovers to offset a 36-22 IUP edge on the boards. Five Raiders reached double figures, with Justin Minter leading the way with 18 points. He was followed by Alex Jones with 17 points and eight assists. Ryan Kraft scored 13 points, Derrick Graff tallied 12 and Brian Oleksiak finished with 10. The Crimson Hawks trailed 58-43 at the midway point of the second half before going on a 11-0 run to get back in the game. Christiansen began and ended the surge with 3-pointers that ended with IUP within 58-54 with 7:39 left in the game. The Raiders responded with a 3-pointer by Jones, who had five in the game, and a layup by Minter for a 63-54 lead. IUP was still behind by eight when Amadou made a basket and Jordan Shaw connected for a 3 to make it 65-62 with 2:06 left. That proved to be the last points of the night for the Crimson Hawks as Shippensburg scored the final seven points of the game to create the final margin. IUP concludes its regular season at home on Saturday with a 7:30 game against Lock Haven. Prior to the game, the new name of the crimson hawk mascot will be revealed and senior Amadou will be honored.
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