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Millersville, Pa. – Clutch play from
Jason Blake and a
Mike Seibert 3-pointer late in overtime lifted the Millersville men's basketball team to a 76-73 extra session victory over C.W. Post Saturday at Pucillo Gymnasium.
The back-and-forth affair featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes, and it wasn't until Seibert's triple with 32 seconds left that the Marauders took the lead for good.
Millersville (2-0) trailed by as many as three in the overtime, but Blake tipped-in a missed layup with 1:27 left on the clock, cutting the Pioneers' (0-1) lead to 71-70. The Marauders dug in on the defensive end, and Blake pulled down the rebound after a C.W. Post lay-up wouldn't fall.
Millersville took control with 59 seconds to go, and Seibert, who finished with just five points, hit his only 3-pointer of the game with 32 seconds left, giving Millersville a 73-71 advantage. Chris Manning answered for the Pioneers with a lay-up 10 seconds later, but on the ensuing inbounds pass, Manning tripped up Blake and was whistled for a foul. Blake coolly stepped to the line and hit a pair of free throws to give the Marauders a 75-73 lead with 18 ticks remaining.
C.W. Post's go-ahead 3-point attempt rimmed out, and
Nigel Davis hauled in the rebound and was immediately fouled. Davis hit 1-of-2 for his career-high 17th point and a three-point lead, and Nemanja Jokic's final 3-point attempt came up empty, sealing the victory for the Marauders.
Free throws and a stout second-half defensive effort proved to be the difference for the Marauders. The team shot just 62 percent from the line in the season opener but cashed 27-of-34 against the Pioneers including 11-of-14 in the second half and 6-of-8 in overtime. Blake and
Palmer McDurfee, who shared game-high honors with 19 points apiece, were both perfect at the free throw line with Blake going 9-for-9 and McDurfee hitting 8-for-8.
Defensively, Millersville limited C.W. Post to just 1-of-13 shooting from 3-point range in the second half and 14-of-38 shooting from the field over the final 25 minutes.
The Marauders exacted a bit of revenge for the 105-65 loss the NCAA Elite Eight-bound Pioneers handed them a year ago. C.W. Post posted an impressive 30-1 record last season, but has lost its last two games dating back to its Elite Eight defeat at the hands of eventual national champion Findlay last year.
Millersville, however, wouldn't have had the opportunity to win the game in overtime had it not been for Blake's heroics at the end of regulation. Millersville led by as many as nine during the second period, but C.W. Post rallied with an 11-1 run to take a 44-43 with 12:43 to go. The lead exchanged hands six more times during the rest of the half, and a Jonathan Kohler lay-up with 18 seconds left gave C.W. Post a 63-61 lead.
But Blake brought the ball up the floor, allowing time to tick away before slashing into the paint and hitting a floater to knot the game at 63 with four seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
Blake scored 17 of his 19 points in the final 25 minutes of action, and while he carried the team late, McDurfee kept the Marauders in the game early, as he scored 13 points in the first half, hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the stripe.
McDurfee also added four assists and four steals. Davis chipped in a game-high eight rebounds including five on the offensive end.
C.W. Post had five players score in double figures and was led by Jokic's 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Marauders return to action Monday evening with a trip to the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Game time is 8 p.m.