Complete Game Notes

GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (4-4) at Philadelphia (6-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Gallagher Center, Philadelphia, Pa.

Indiana (Pa.) at Millersville
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville, Pa.

California (Pa.) at Millersville
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville, Pa.

COVERAGE
Audio: MSBN
Live Stats

TICKETS
Adults: $6.00
Students: $3.00
Millersville Students: Free with I.D.

ABOUT THE GAME
•    Millersville enters the week 4-4 and looking for some consistency following a 13-day layoff. This week, the Marauders face three stiff challenges from non-conference foes Philadelphia, Indiana (Pa.) and California (Pa.). All three opponents own winning records and historically strong programs. The stretch opens Wednesday at Philadelphia at 3 p.m. On Saturday, Indiana invades Pucillo Gymansium, and California takes on the homestanding Marauders on Sunday. Both weekend games are scheduled for 3 p.m.
•    Millersville has lost three of its last four but its one victory in that four-game stretch was an impressive 97 point output against W.Va. State in which the team shot a blistering 54.8 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. The next game, however, the Marauders managed 48 points—the second lowest point total of the Fred Thompson era—in a loss at Virginia State. In Millersville's last three losses, the team has shot just 6-of-53 from 3-point range (11.3 percent). Reggie Bates has missed his last 16 threes but still averaged over 18 points per game during the stretch.
•    Philadelphia enters the week boasting a 6-2 record and has won four of its last five games. Kutztown, which is 8-0, handed Philadelphia its only loss during that stretch by a 68-60 score. The Rams are also coming off an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
•    Indiana is in the midst of a dramatic turnaround under head coach Joe Lombardi. Just two years ago, the team was 6-21 but it is off to a 7-2 start this year and has an average margin of victory of 17.3 points per game.
•    California, the team that knocked Millersville out of last year's NCAA Division II Tournament and reached the Elite Eight, is 4-3 entering the week but has won four of the last five games. The team is also road tested, having played just two games at home. 
•    All three contests will be broadcast live on the Marauders Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN). Fans can access the broadcast on www.millersvilleathletics.com. Live stats will also be available via www.millersvilleathletics.com.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
•    Philadelphia has earned its success at the defensive end this year, holding opponents to 59.8 points and 38.1 percent shooting. Opponents are also managing just 27.8 percent from 3-point range. The team has held opponents under 60 points four times this year. The Rams, however, have not been overly impressive on offense, scoring 64.8 points per game and shooting just over 43 percent from the field.
•    All five of the team's starters are playing over 32 minutes per game and only one other player (J.J. Gundry) is averaging more than eight minutes per game. Frederick Russell is the top scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting. Malcolm Ingram is second in scoring (15.1 points per game) and first in rebounding at 8.6 per outing.
•     Head Coach Herb Magee is in his 42nd season at the helm and ranks fourth all-time in NCAA history regardless of division with 861 career wins.
•    Indiana has played seven of its nine games at home. It's two losses came to Alderson-Broaddus (62-60) and at Pittsburgh (86-60). Since falling to Alderson-Broaddus, the Crimson Hawks have rattled off five-straight wins. The team features a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging in double figures. Darryl Webb leads the team with 14.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. As a team, the Crimson Hawks are knocking down 47.2 percent of its shots.
•    California, under 13th-year head coach Bill Brown, has always been known for its defense, and this year is no different. The Vulcans are holding opponents to 59.7 points per game. After scoring just 45 and 53 points in the first two games, California seems to have solved its offensive problems. The team has scored at least 72 points in four of its last five and scored 83 in its last outing. Julian Logan paces the squad in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.4) per game.

THE SERIES
•    Philadelphia holds a decisive 6-1 record in the series over the Marauders, but all six victories came prior to the 1997-98 season. The first meeting came in 1962. The two teams ended a 10-year break in the series last year with Millersville earning a 52-48 victory. 
•    Millersville and Indiana will meet for the 32nd time Saturday. The Marauders hold a slight 16-15 edge in the series and have won the last two meetings by an average of 18 points.
•    Millersville is 39-17 all-time against California, but the Vulcans took both meetings last season, including one in the NCAA East Region title game. Prior to that, the Marauders had won seven of the previous nine matchups. The series began in 1930-31 and Millersville captured the first 11 games.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    It had been 11 days since the Millersville men's basketball team last took to the court and the rust showed Wednesday at Virginia State as the Marauders shot 36.7 percent from the field and scored a season low in points in the 69-48 loss.
•    The homestanding Trojans (4-5) raced to a 8-0 lead after the first four minutes of play that included five missed shots and two turnovers by the Marauders (4-4). The advantage grew to as many as 14 in the first half before Millersville closed the gap to 33-24 at the half despite missing all seven of its 3-point attempts.
•    Millersville, led by seniors Makal Stibbins and Reggie Bates, opened the second frame with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 35-35 with 16:40 remaining. During that stretch, Stibbins scored five points and blocked a shot and Bates tallied four markers and a steal.
•    But from there, the Trojans quickly pulled away, using a Trey Mines lay-up on the next possession to break the tie and start a 6-0 run that put Millersville down for good. Virginia State shot a blistering 51.9 percent from the field in the second half and dominated the glass, outrebounding Millersville 48-22. The Trojans scored 16 second-chance points on 15 offensive boards.
•    The Marauders hit on just one of their 17 3-pointers in the game. Thursday's performance was just one game removed from scoring a season-high 97 points and hitting 8-of-14 from deep on Dec. 6 against W.Va. State.

WINNING RESOLUTION
•    Since the records started being tracked in 1983-84, the month of January has been Millersville's most successful. The Marauders have posted a 164-68 mark (.719) during that span and is 62-37 (.623) in 10 seasons under Fred Thompson.

MAKAL'S MARKSMANSHIP
•    Makal Stibbins is averaging career bests in points, rebounds, and blocks, but maybe what's most impressive is his shooting accuracy. He enters the week ranked second in the PSAC in field goal percentage. He has converted 48-of-72 chances (.667). He has attempted 39 more field goals that Edinboro's Vlad Kovalevsky, who ranks first at .697. Stibbins has also converted at least 18 more field goals that any player ranked in the top four. Only three players ranked in the top 15 have made more shots than Stibbins.
•    If Stibbins maintains his shooting percentage throughout the season, he will shatter John Fox's '87 single season school record of .642.

CLEANING THE GLASS
•    Makal Stibbins leads the Marauders and is tied for third in the PSAC in rebounding at 9.6 per game. He also ranks second in defensive rebounds per game (6.6) and 10th in offensive rebounds per game (3.0).
•    Stibbins has led the team in rebounding in each of the last six games, and has tallied double figure boards in all six. He has grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds four times this season and has tallied double figure rebounds in seven of the team's eight games. Only two other Millersville players—Reggie Bates and Rob Coney—have turned in a double digit rebound performance this year. Bates grabbed 10 and Coney pulled down 11 in the season opener.

SEEING DOUBLE
•    After playing 62 games without a double-double, Makal Stibbins has totaled six in his first eight games of 2008-09. He has matched a career-high with 11 rebounds four times. He also set a career in points twice as well, totaling 17 against Penn State Abington and then pouring in 26 against W.Va. State on Dec. 6.
•    Stibbins has recorded a double-double in each of the last three games.
•    Both Stibbins and Reggie Bates recorded double-doubles in the season opening victory over Penn State Abington. Stibbins' 17 points and 10 boards were both career highs and gave him his first career double-double. Bates had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double.
•    Millersville saw double-double efforts 15 times in 2007-08 including six in the final five games of the season. Dating back to last season, Millersville has 13 double-doubles in the last 13 games including seven in the first eight games of this season.

BLOCK PARTY
•    Millersville has blocked at least two shots in every game in each game this season and has had a player block two or more three times. The team has blocked at least three shots in seven of eight games.
•    As a team, Millersville is ranked eighth in the 16-team PSAC with 4.1 blocks per game.
•    Makal Stibbins has been the team leader in blocks in six games and his 18 blocks are 12 more than any other player on the team. He enters the week ranked fourth in the PSAC with 2.3 blocked shots per game and is just 0.3 blocks per game behind the leader.
•    Stibbins has totaled at least one block in seven of eight games and has blocked two or more in each of his last three outings. He is averaging three blocks per game in his last three games.
•    Stibbins blocked a career high six shots in the season opener against Penn State Abington. His previous best was four, which he recorded on four different occasions. His six blocks were the most by a Marauder since George Bailey swatted seven against Southern Connecticut State on Nov. 20, 1999. As a team, the Marauders swatted seven shots. Millersville blocked seven shots twice and eight one time in 2007-08.

MARAUDER MILESTONES
•    Millersville's men's basketball program began in 1899 and since then, it has compiled 1,297 wins, leaving it just three victories shy of 1,300 all-time wins. Entering the 2008-09 season, Millersville is 11th among all Division II teams in all-time victories and 25th by winning percentage.
•    He has only played in a Millersville uniform for three seasons, but Reggie Bates has rapidly climbed up the all-time scoring list. His career average of 16.1 points per game and 1,145 total points places him 31st all-time ahead of Daron Pressley '04. He passed Lyman Reifsnyder '42 and Joe Labatch '56 in the first game of the season. Bates' scored 615 points a year ago and with a repeat effort, he would finish with 1,641 points and 10th all-time just ahead of Lance Gelnett '92, who was inducted into the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame this year. Bates is also on pace to be the top-scoring three-year player in school history.
•    Only two coaches in Millersville men's basketball history have reached the 200-win plateau and Fred Thompson is only 13 wins shy of joining John Kochan (285-96) and Richard DeHart (321-298).  Thompson could be the second-fastest coach in school history to achieve the milestone. It took Kochan into his ninth season to win his 200th game. DeHart won his 200th game with his third victory in his 15th year.

SUPER SCORER
•    Reggie Bates produced one of the best single seasons in school history last year and is looking to become the third-straight Marauder to earn PSAC East Athlete of the Year honors if he can duplicate his junior season efforts.
•    Bates erupted for a season-high 26 points against W.Va. State and has not been held under 10 points in the last 10 games he has played dating back to last season. The senior guard is averaging just over 19 points per game over that span. The last time Bates failed to record double digits in scoring was on March 7, 2008, against Edinboro, when he scored eight.
•    Bates currently ranks 11th in the PSAC in scoring average (17.0).
•    Bates has scored at least 11 points in all seven games this season and has converted at least five field goals in six straight. He has also led the team in scoring four times.
•    Bates scored 12.8 points per game as a sophomore in 2006-07, but 2007-08 was truly his breakthrough season. Bates led the team in scoring with 19.2 points per game and produced the sixth-best single season point total in school history with 615. Bates scored in double figures in all but five games and scored at least six points in every game. He also produced 15 20-point games—two of which came in the NCAA East Regional—and four 30-point outings. Bates was responsible for four of the team's five 30-point games during the year. His 36 point performance against Slippery Rock on Dec. 2 was the top scoring performance of the season for Millersville and the second-best performance in the PSAC.

ADVANTAGE PUCILLO
•    Since Fred Thompson took over the program in 1998-99, the Marauders are incredible 112-35 at home in Pucillo Gymnasium. The Marauders have posted a 29-5 home mark in the last three seasons (including 2008-09). The team has won no fewer than eight home games each season. The Marauders recorded eight of their 10 wins at home in 2005-06 and nine of their 12 wins came at home in 1999-00.  
•    Maybe even more impressive is the 44-16 PSAC East record during that stretch. Millersville is 9-1 against PSAC East teams in Pucillo in the last two seasons.

MARCH MADNESS
•    Extending the season into March is becoming commonplace at Millersville, and in 2007-08, the Marauders earned their 20th bid to the PSAC Tournament since 1984 and the seventh under the direction of Fred Thompson. Millersville has also won at least one game in the tournament in each of their last four appearances.
•    Despite falling in the PSAC Tournament semifinals to Edinboro, the Marauders entered the NCAA Division II Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East Region and promptly knocked off Edinboro and Pitt-Johnstown to make their second-straight appearance and third since 2003 in the East Region title game. Top seeded California (Pa.) halted Millersville's quest for an Elite Eight appearance by a 64-52 score.
•    Among PSAC programs, Millersville has four NCAA Tournament bids since 2003. Only California (Pa.) has more with five.
•    Thompson is looking to take his team to an eighth PSAC Tournament and a fifth NCAA Tournament. In Millersville history, Thompson is second only to John Kochan (1983-96) in overall PSAC appearances, but needs only one more tournament win to vault Kochan for the most PSAC tournament victories as a Millersville coach. If Millersville appears in the NCAA Tournament this year, it will be the third time in school history that Millersville has earned three-straight berths.