Complete Game Notes

GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (8-15, 2-8) at Cheyney (15-6, 8-2)
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 - 8 p.m.
Cope Hall, Cheyney, Pa.

Bloomsburg (4-19, 1-9) at Millersville
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 - 3 p.m.
Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville, Pa.

COVERAGE
Audio: MSBN

LIVE STATS
vs. Bloomsburg

ABOUT THE GAMES
• The Millersville men's basketball team looks to snap a two-game slide at Cheyney on Wednesday and then hosts Bloomsburg on Saturday. Millersville will also be trying to avenge a pair of earlier season defeats from the two PSAC East rivals.
• On Saturday, Millersville Athletics will take part in the American Heart Association's American Heart Month by hosting a Go Red for Women Day. Fans are encouraged to wear red, and throughout the day, there will be a raffle, giveaways as well as information about heart disease. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease as well as raise funds for the American Heart Association. • Makal Stibbins has been dominant lately. In his last two games, he is averaging 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. He is also shooting 56.7 percent from the field. He has scored in double figures in 10-straight games.
• Fred Thompson is 90-63 all-time against the PSAC East. Prior to this season, none of his teams had ever started 0-4 in the league.
• Both contests will be broadcast live on the Marauders Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN). Fans can access the broadcast on www.millersvilleathletics.com. Live stats for the Shippensburg contest can be accessed at wws.shipraiders.com. Live stats for Saturday's game against Kutztown can be viewed on www.millersvilleathletics.com.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• Cheyney enters the week with a 15-6 overall record and a 8-2 PSAC East mark and currently sits in position to host an opening round game in the PSAC Tournament. The Wolves, under first-year head coach Dominique Stephens, trails Kutztown for the PSAC East crown by just one game. The Wolves have won three-straight and six of their last seven games. Their lone loss in that stretch was a 75-73 loss to Kutztown. Cheyney has emerged as one of the league's top defensive squads as it holds opponents to 62.5 points per game (third in the PSAC). The Wolves have allowed opponents to score over 70 points just twice in the last 13 games.
• Tyrone Smith is the team's top offense threat. He has led the team in scoring in seven of the last eight games and ranks eighth in the PSAC in scoring average at 17.2 points per game.
• Bloomsburg comes into the week with a 4-19 overall record and a 1-9 PSAC East mark. The lone conference win came over Millersville on Jan. 24. Since that victory, the Huskies have dropped six in a row. Their last five losses have all been by double figures.
• Bloomsburg does not have an individual ranked in the top 20 in the PSAC in scoring or rebounding. Britt Ruben leads three players in double figures with 13.9 points per game. Larry Webster is averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game but has not played in enough games to qualify as a leader in the PSAC.

THE SERIES
• Of all the teams in the PSAC, only Cheyney has a winning record against Millersville. Wednesday is the 106th all-time meeting and the Wolves hold a 60-45 edge in the series. The series record is skewed as Cheyney won 40 of 41 games between 1963 and 1983. Fred Thompson is 14-9 against Cheyney during his tenure, but the Wolves have won each of the last three games. On Jan. 28, Cheyney handed the Marauders a 77-60 loss in Pucillo Gymnasium.
• Saturday will be the 170th contest between Millersville and Bloomsburg. Millersville holds a slight 88-81 edge in the all-time series, but has dominated in recent years, winning 14 of the last 16. Bloomsburg, however, snapped Millersville's five-game winning streak on Jan. 24 at Bloomsburg, 64-55.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Senior Makal Stibbins scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, but Kutztown--the top team in the PSAC East--was too much for the homestanding Marauders Saturday afternoon as it handed Millersville a 77-61 defeat.
• Stibbins' double-double was his ninth of the season, and it was his 10th-straight game scoring in double figures. He also added two assists, two blocks and was an efficient 8-of-15 shooting. The 16 boards were the most by a Marauder since Charlie Parker tallied 17 against Kutztown in 2006.
• As a team, though, the Marauders (8-15, 2-8) shot just 36.2 percent on the game while the highest scoring team in the PSAC, Kutztown (20-3, 9-1), knocked down 52 percent of its shots and received 22 points from Andre Woodlin and 20 from Dave Ben.
• In the first meeting of the season, Kutztown scored 50 points in the first half. On Saturday, however, the Marauders kept the game close early by limiting the visitors to 8-of-27 shooting and just 39 points. The Marauders found themselves trailing 17-15 eight minutes into the game, but Kutztown slowly opened the advantage and closed the half with an 8-2 run to take a 39-27 lead into the break.
• Kutztown kept up its run in the second half with a 12-3 stretch in which the Golden Bears hit six-straight shots. Kutztown sank its first 11 field goals in the second half and before it missed at the 12:17 mark, it had built a 63-40 advantage.
• Millersville rallied to within 15 on two occasions but could not overcome the deficit.
• Stibbins record 15 points and nine rebounds in the second half alone. Zac Bauermaster scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He hit 3-of-5 shots from the field including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 2-of-3 from the line. Jason Blake also chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds giving him double figures in three of his last four outings.

DON'T SLEEP ON P.J.
• Palmer “P.J.” McDurfee sparked the Marauders to their first two PSAC East victories of the season on Feb. 4 and Feb. 7. In those two games, he averaged 16 points, 6.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He also shot 5-of-12 from 3-point range and 15-of-17 from the free throw line. He also played an average of 44 minutes in the two games. His 21 points against West Chester on Feb. 7 was a career high.
• McDurfee has scored double figures in three of his last six games and nine times total this year. The team is 5-4 when he scores at least 10 points.
• McDurfee is the team leader in assists with 67 and has committed just 46 turnovers. Only six times this season has he committed more turnovers than assists. He has totaled four or more assists on seven occasions, and when he totals at least five assists, Millersville is 5-0.
• By hitting 47-of-59 free throws (.782), McDurfee is ranked eighth in the PSAC in free throw shooting percentage.

BLAKE TO WIN
• Jason Blake not only hit the game-tying and game-winning shots in the Feb. 4 double overtime victory over East Stroudsburg, but he scored a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Blake is fourth on the team in scoring, but when he produces in the point column, the Marauders win. He has scored in double figures eight times this year. In those games, the Marauders are 5-3.

EMERGING ROOKIES
• A pair of freshmen have provided some much-needed offensive production in recent weeks.
• Freshman Brandon Widener broke out on Jan. 21 against Shippensburg when he scored a career-high 24, becoming just the third player on Millersville's roster to score 20 points in a game this season. He also led Millersville with 19 points on Jan. 11 at Mercyhurst.
• Prior to leaving the Feb. 7 game because of injury, he had scored in double figures six times in eight games including three in a row.
• At Mercyhurst, he hit 6-of-9 shots including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Entering the game, he had scored a total of 15 points, nine of which came from the free throw line. He had made just three field goals and no 3-pointers entering the game. It was just the second time this season that a player other than Makal Stibbins or Reggie Bates led the team in scoring.
• Cullen Murray-Kemp scored nine or more points in six-straight games from Jan. 10-Jan. 24. He also hit at least three 3-pointers in each of those six games. In his last 12 games, he is shooting 22-of-55 from 3-point range (.400). He has made at least one 3-pointer in 16 of his 21 games this season.
• His 10-point effort against Slippery Rock was the first double-figure game of his career. His 14 against Mercyhurst was a career-high effort. Since then, he has scored in double figure five times.

MAKAL'S MARKSMANSHIP
• Makal Stibbins is averaging career bests in points, rebounds, and blocks, but maybe what's most impressive is his shooting accuracy. Along with ranking 16th in the PSAC in scoring (14.8 points per game), he enters the week ranked second in the PSAC in field goal percentage. He has converted 137-of-224 chances (.612). He trails Jordan Armstrong of Mercyhurst by .024 percentage points but has attempted 40 more shots on the season.
• Stibbins has shot under 50 percent from the field in just four games this year and has shot better than 70 percent from the field 11 times.
• If Stibbins keeps up the pace, he will have an opportunity to break John Fox's '87 single season school record of .642.

CLEANING THE GLASS
• Makal Stibbins leads the Marauders and is seventh in the PSAC in rebounding at 8.6 per game. He also ranks fifth in defensive rebounds per game (5.8) and ninth in offensive rebounds per game (2.8).
• Stibbins has led the team in rebounding in 18 of the last 20 games and has tallied double figure boards 10 times. Only three other Millersville players—Reggie Bates, Rob Coney and Brandon Widener—have turned in a double digit rebound performance this year. Bates grabbed 10 and Coney pulled down 11 in the season opener.

SEEING DOUBLE
• Brandon Widener entered select company on Jan. 21 against Shippensburg by totaling 25 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. He is one of only three Millersville players to tally a double-double this season.
• After playing 62 games without a double-double, Makal Stibbins has totaled nine so far in 2008-09. He matched a career-high with 11 rebounds six times before setting a new high with 16 against Kutztown on Feb. 14. 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 recorded a double-double six times in the first eight 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 17 double-doubles in the last 28 games including seven in the first eight games of this season.

BLOCK PARTY
• Millersville has blocked at least two shots in 18 of 23 games this season and has had a player block three or more 13 times.
• Makal Stibbins has been the team leader in blocks in 18 games and his 42 blocks are 34 more than any other player on the team. He enters the week ranked fourth in the PSAC with 1.8 blocked shots per game.
• Stibbins has totaled at least one block in 19 of 23 games and has blocked two or more 12 times.
• 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 1,300 win. 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 15.9 points per game and 1,308 total points places him 21st all-time and just 33 points behind Mike Monroe '91 for 20th. He passed Lyman Reifsnyder '42 and Joe Labatch '56 in the first game of the season and has jumped 13 spots already this season.
• Only two coaches in Millersville men's basketball history have reached the 200-win plateau and Fred Thompson is only nine 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.

ADVANTAGE PUCILLO
• Since Fred Thompson took over the program in 1998-99, the Marauders are incredible 114-40 at home in Pucillo Gymnasium. The Marauders have posted a 31-10 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 45-20 PSAC East record during that stretch. Millersville is 10-5 against PSAC East teams in Pucillo in the last two seasons.