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MANSFIELD – Sharif Bray hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to lift Cheyney to a 77-75 upset win over Mansfield in a PSAC quarterfinal Tuesday evening in Decker Gymnasium.

In a game that started out as an offensive battle it was defense in the end that decided the outcome.

Cheyney tied the game at 75-75 on a basket by Rob Towsend with 3:30 to play and neither team would score again until Bray's game-winning free throws with seconds remaining.

“We had some bad possessions in the end,” said Mansfield head coach Rich Miller. “They played well and prevented us from getting the ball into the hands of the people we wanted to get it to.”

“It's just a hard, hard loss for us and something that very painful right now.”

Bray's game-winning free throws came after a Mansfield turnover with 12 seconds left. Mansfield missed two shots as the shot-clock wound down over the last three minutes and also missed a pair of free throws.

Mansfield limited Cheyney to just one shot, a missed three-pointer by Bray, over the final 3:30.

Mansfield looked to be in control late in the game taking a 71-65 lead on a layup by Derrison Anthony with just over six minutes to play.

Mansfield still led 75-71 on a pair of free throws by Charles Harper but would not score another point over the final 4:25 of the game.

Senior Yuseff Carr, playing his final game at Decker Gymnasium, led the Mountaineers in scoring with 27 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Anthony had 19 points with 15 of them coming in the first half.

Tony Fannick had a perfect shooting night going 3-3 from the floor including 1-1 on 3-pointers and 4-4 at the free throw line to score 11 points.

Bray led all scorers with 30 points including a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line while Bruce Kennedy added 16 points and hit 4-6 of his 3-point attempts. Rob Townsend had 11 points and Antonio Boyd 10 points.

Mansfield struggled at the free throw line hitting 20-33 while Cheyney was 23-26 from the line. Mansfield connected on just 11-22 free throws in the first half but still held a 48-42 halftime lead.

It marks the second straight year Mansfield was the No. 1 seed in the East and dropped a quarterfinal to the No. 4 seed. Mansfield lost 65-61 to Kutztown last season.

Mansfield falls to 18-9 overall and now must wait to see if they receive a NCAA playoff berth. The Mountaineers were rated No. 5 in the region in the last poll with the top eight teams advancing to the NCAA Regional Tournament.