Box Score

Millersville, Pa. - Using a 3-point barrage and a career-high 26 points from sophomore Mike Seibert, the Millersville men's basketball team put an end to a five-game skid by defeating visiting Shippensburg 79-71 Monday evening in Pucillo Gymnasium.

Shippensburg (10-13, 3-7 PSAC East) entered Monday's PSAC Eastern Division clash as the top-ranked 3-point defense in the conference, allowing opponents to shot just over 29 percent per game. But Millersville (8-15, 3-7 PSAC East) hit 13-of-23 from behind the arc, the most by a Marauder team since 2003. All 13 threes came from just three players. Seibert canned 7-of-11, Jim Kelleher hit 4-of-8, and Palmer McDurfee was 2-of-3. Those three Marauders were joined in double figures by Rob Wyley and Jason Blake, giving Millersville five double-figure scorers in the same game for the first time since Dec. 6, 2008.

Seemingly all season long, the Marauders have struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Two days ago at No. 21 Kutztown, the Marauders started to click, scoring its most points in an eight-game stretch. The Marauders followed that with its second-highest point total of the season Monday, and the 46 points scored in the second half were eight more than they managed the entire 40 minutes against West Chester just two games ago. The Marauders also committed a season-low nine turnovers.

Millersville needed nearly every one of those threes to drop to hold of Shippensburg, though. The lead changed hands five times and stood tied five times in the first half alone. Ship's Craig Van Scyoc, who made four 3-pointers of his own, hit one in the final minute of the first period to cut Millersville's lead to 33-32 at the break.

The Marauders, however, began to pull away early in the second period, hitting six of its first eight shots from the field--three of which were 3-pointers--and three-straight free throws. The run opened a 51-43 led with 13:49 to go. The hot-shooting Marauders continued to pour it on with McDurfee hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions three minutes later, and with 8:42 left, Seibert hit his sixth triple of the game to put Millersville up 13. Seibert drilled another at the 3:24 mark to put Millersville up 15--its biggest lead of the game.

Shippensburg managed to chip Millersville's advantage down to six with 1:10 remaining, but Seibert and Wyley each went 1-of-2 from the line in the final 21 seconds to seal the win.

Seibert's previous career-high was 17 a year ago, and no Marauder has made more than seven threes since Gerald Redding's eight in 2002. Wyley totaled 10 points for the second-straight game after not scoring more than nine in his first 14 games as a Marauder.

Millersville returns to action Wednesday evening at Pucillo Gymnasium against Cheyney. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.