INDIANA, Pa. – IUP gave up 17 points in the final five minutes as the 23rd-ranked Crimson Hawks dropped their regular season finale and Senior Day matchup to Shippensburg 45-21 Saturday afternoon at George P. Miller Stadium.
 
The Crimson Hawks rallied from three touchdowns down, as a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Samir Bullock early in the fourth quarter cut the Shippensburg lead to 28-21.
 
The Red Raiders responded to that touchdown with an 11-play, 68-yard drive that lasted 5:42 and resulted in a field goal to extend their lead to 10 points. The Shippensburg defense picked off two passes in the final minutes, returning one 30 yards for a touchdown to ice the game and ruin the Crimson Hawks' Senior Day and any outside chance they had at a fourth straight NCAA playoff berth.
 
IUP finished the season with an 8-3 record. Shippensburg clinched a winning record at 6-5 with the win.
 
The Raiders opened the scoring with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown on the Crimson Hawks' opening drive. IUP sophomore running back Justice Evans responded with a 31-yard scoring run to help tie the game at 7-7.
 
Shippensburg then scored 21 unanswered points, adding touchdowns in the first, second and third quarters to take a 28-7 lead early in the second half.
 
The momentum began to turn midway through the third quarter when redshirt senior quarterback Lenny Williams Jr. hit junior receiver Dom McNeil for a 56-yard pass play. Williams ran it in from four yards out on the next play to cut Shippensburg's lead in half.
 
Junior safety Shaq Jones and redshirt sophomore cornerback Kyeer Geisinger ended Shippensburg drives with interceptions, the latter leading to the Bullock touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
 
The drive started with long pass plays of 38 yards to McNeil and 32 yards to junior receiver Zac Kelly to put IUP at Ship's 3-yard line. But it took the Crimson Hawks seven plays to get the ball in the end zone, as they were aided by a pass interference call on fourth down. Bullock's touchdown also came on a fourth down pay after IUP didn't gain a yard in its previous three plays following the penalty.
 
That was the end of the IUP comeback as Shippensburg regained momentum with three scores and two forced turnovers in the game's final five minutes.  
 
Notes
This is IUP's first loss in the regular season finale since losing to West Chester 28-17 at home in 2014 … It was IUP's first loss to a PSAC East team since falling to Kutztown 34-33 in the 2015 season opening, breaking a streak of 11 straight games against cross-divisional opponents … The 45 points is the most given up by IUP this season and the most scored by a Crimson Hawks' opponent since Gannon scored 45 in a win on October 23, 2010 … Williams finished 8-of-22 for 177 yards and three interceptions, and was sacked five times … McNeil finished with 125 receiving yards on four catches, his fourth career 100-yard game in the last two years … Paul Tortorella is 21-4 in his two years as the IUP head coach.
 
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