Box Score

Millersville, Pa. - The Millersville men's basketball team led by as many as 13 in the second half but needed clutch free throw shooting in the final minute to hold off Bloomsburg Saturday in Pucillo Gymnasium, 71-69.

Millersville (10-15, 4-8 PSAC East) took its largest lead of the game at 57-44 with 4:33 left. Bloomsburg (4-21, 1-11 PSAC East), however, refused to go away. By fouling to stop the clock, the Huskies extended the game, sending Millersville to the line 18 times in the final 2:32.

The Marauders hit 13 of those free throws, but the Huskies narrowed Millersville's advantage to 67-64 with 34 seconds to go. Freshman Mike Seibert, who finished with 14 points and hit all six of his free throws in the final minute, hit two with 29 seconds left to push the lead back to five. Drew Jerry drilled a 3-pointer just five seconds later, but Seibert answered with two more free throws to make it a two possession game at 71-67 with 19 seconds remaining.

Bloomsburg's Larry Webster followed a missed shot with a tip-in to crawl within 71-69. Millersville struggled to get the ball inbounds, and a turnover gave Bloomsburg the ball with nine seconds on the clock. The Marauders, however, dug in defensively and did not allow the Huskies to get off a shot before time expired.

Bloomsburg's late charge was sparked by a dead-eye shooting performance in the second half as it hit 18-of-36 shots from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point range. The Huskies scored 16 points in the final two minutes.

Millersville finished the game hitting 22-of-34 from the stripe including 18-of-28 in the second half. Along with his six free throws, Seibert hit 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Makal Stibbins matched Seibert for team-high honors with 14 points and eight rebounds. Brandon Widener also tallied 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Palmer McDurfee chipped in 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

The win was Millersville's second in a row and kept alive its outside chances to reach the PSAC Tournament. With two games remaining, the Marauders need to defeat both East Stroudsburg and Mansfield and have East Stroudsburg and Mansfield lose the remaining two games on the schedule.

Millersville hosts East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. Prior the game, the Marauders will honor its seniors. The game is also a BLACKOUT, and fans are encouraged to wear all black to the game.