Box Score

Cheyney, Pa. - Millersville men's basketball junior Palmer McDurfee made a driving lay-up with 2.5 seconds left, and Cheyney's last second 3-pointer--that went in--was waived off by the officials, giving the visiting Marauders a 61-59 upset victory over Cheyney.

McDurfee scored only four points in the game, but his late basket not only gave Millersville its first win in the last four games against Cheyney but it also put the Wolves' PSAC Eastern Division title hopes in serious jeopardy.  The Marauders improved to 9-15 overall and 3-8 in the East while Cheyney fell to 15-7 overall and 8-3 in the league.

Cheyney entered the contest trailing Kutztown in the standings by just one game. It was Millersville, however, that looked like the favorite, leading for nearly 28 minutes until Dominique Curry's lay-up with 33 seconds left knotted the game at 59 and set up McDurfee's heroics.

The Marauders held a lead at the half, and the team's stellar defense and efficient offense made the difference. Millersville shot just 33.3 percent in the first period, but held Cheyney to 30.8 shooting. Freshman Mike Seibert canned a 3-pointer at the 2:55 mark to boost Millersville's lead to 24-17, and the defense did the rest, blanking the Wolves the rest of the half.

Cheyney scored first in the second to cut the lead to five, but Millersville ran off seven-straight points from three different players to build the lead to 12--the largest of the game. Cheyney whittled the lead back to two at 33-31 with 13:05 left, but Millersville answered with back-to-back threes from Seibert and fellow freshman Cullen Murray-Kemp.

The two squads were never separated by more than six points over the final 15:53, but the Marauders held off the Wolves by hitting 15-of-22 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the second half. 

Leading 55-51 with three minutes left, Millersville scored just six points the rest of the way. But a dunk by Makal Stibbins, a Brandon Widener lay-up with 1:05 left and McDurfee's game-winner was just enough to top the efforts of Curry and Tyrone Smith, who combined to score Cheyney's final 13 points.

Widener paced the Marauders with 14 points. Stibbins scored 12 on 6-of-7 shooting, and Jason Blake added 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals before fouling out. McDurfee also handed out four assists.

The Marauders will look to put together back-to-back wins for the fourth time this season on Saturday when they host Bloomsburg at 3 p.m. in Pucillo Gymnasium.