Box Score

Lock Haven, Pa. — Basketball can be a streaky game. When shooters get going early in a game, it usually ends in a night of horror for the opposition. On this night, those horrors became reality for Lock Haven, which was scorched to the tune of 32 points by sophomore guard Brandon Widener, who led the visiting Millersville men's basketball team to an 83-76 victory at Thomas Fieldhouse on Monday night.

Widener has had a tough time immersing himself in the Marauders' offensive scheme early on this season, even going through a quick stint coming off the bench. Those struggles seemed to be a thing of the past on Monday, however, as Widener scored 12 of the team's first 16 points en route to an early 16-9 lead.

Millersville (4-1), playing its first game in over a week, showed no signs of rust in the opening half. A Widener three with 11:11 to play gave the Marauders their first double-digit lead of the night, 23-11. The Bald Eagles countered on their next possession with a long ball from Eli Hanna, but Widener's put back of a Guye Weber miss the next time down pushed the Millersville lead back to 11 and the visitors never let the lead get back to single-digits the remainder of the half.

The shooting display that Widener and his Marauder teammates put on during the opening 20 minutes was by far their best of the young season. Millersville shot 63-percent (17-of-27) from the floor and 60-percent (6-of-10) from 3-point land in opening a 43-29 halftime lead. Widener was nearly perfect, connecting on 9 of the 10 shots he hoisted up and not missing on any of his five 3-point attempts for 23 points.

The offenses puttered along through the first five minutes out of the locker room, with the teams combining to score just 10 points in the early stages of the second half. A jumper from Nigel Davis, followed up by Widener's sixth trey of the night, gave Millersville a 19-point lead, its largest of the game, with 14:39 to go.

Even though the Black and Gold controlled much of the first 26 minutes, it could not escape the evening without being thrown for a scare. Lock Haven (1-4) managed to keep Widener in check over the final 14 minutes of the half, subsequently making its own run to get back in the contest. Eric Brennan (27 points) scored 10 straight Bald Eagle points in 3:17 to cut the Marauder lead back to 11 and LHU trimmed it into a two-possession game, 65-59, with just over four and a half minutes remaining.

Widener put the Marauders back up by 10 on a jumper with exactly three minutes to go. It was a hoop that made the Penn Manor graduate Millersville's first 30-point scorer since Reggie Bates laid 32 on Pitt Johnstown on March 16, 2008, a span of 32 games.

A pair of 3-pointers and a conventional three-point play by Brennan kept Lock Haven within striking distance, but the Marauders sealed the deal at the line, making 13 of their final 16 free throws.

Millersville placed three players in double-figures. Palmer McDurfee buried 12-of-14 at the charity stripe, finishing with 14, while Davis chipped in 13. In addition to his career and game-high 32 points (11-of-14 from the field, 5-of-6 from 3-point range), Widener grabbed five rebounds. Brennan did his part for the homestanding Bald Eagles, dropping in team-best 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting (11-of-12 at the line). Dalexis Pena quietly piled up 19 points, but it was not enough for Lock Haven, which lost its third straight game. Both teams protected the ball well, each turning the ball over just 12 times. Millersville won the battle of the benches and the boards. MU's reserves outscored LHU's 30-10 and the Marauders held a 34-24 advantage in rebounds. A big component to both those numbers was senior Alen Ahmetovic, who contributed eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Marauders return to Pucillo Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon to host Virginia State in non-conference action. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.