Complete Game Notes
GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (17-9, 13-7 PSAC) vs. Mansfield (7-17, 5-15 PSAC)
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 - 3 p.m.
Decker Gymnasium, Mansfield, Pa.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats
SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Mans: 80-56
Series Streak: Ville, 1
First Meeting: 1933 (Ville 39, Mans 36)
Last Meeting: 2013 (Ville 75, Mans 68)
Last 10 Meetings: 2-8
Fred Thompson vs. Mans: 15-15
Rich Miller vs. Ville: 10-7
GAME NOTES
· Millersville is the only team in the 16-team PSAC that presently knows its seeding for the PSAC Tournament. The Marauders are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the East and will play one of four teams in the first round on March 2 at Pucillo Gymnasium. The Marauders upset No. 10 East Stroudsburg on Wednesday and led by as many as 31 in the game. The win gave
Fred Thompson his seventh 17-win season. Over the last 15 seasons, only West Chester (10) in the PSAC East has more. That total is the fifth-most in the PSAC with IUP (11), California (10) and Edinboro (8) leading the way. Thompson has four 20-win seasons, which is tied with West Chester and trails IUP (10), California (7) and Edinboro (5) for the most over the last 15 years.
· Millersville has suffered its share of injuries and illness this season, and with
Jaymes Miller missing the ESU game with the flu, only
Elijah Obade has started all 26 games. Eight different players have started at least five games. Only three players (Obade, Grant and Bollinger have played all 26 games). Wednesday's game was the first that Miller missed in his Marauder career. It ended a streak of 35 consecutive starts and 75 consecutive games played. Using plus/minus statistics, Millersville is missing two of its top five players.
Brandon Belt led the team at +5.06 and
Kemar Williams ranked fifth at +2.55. Of lineups that have played together at least 25 minutes, Williams was the point guard in the most successful (+16 over 51 minutes), and Belt was in the second and third most successful (+8.54 over 131:09 minutes and +11.82 over 27:05).
· Nate Bollinger made 7-of-14 shots and tied for a team-high in scoring with 20 points against ESU. It was Bollinger's high as a Marauder and his second game in double figures. Grant scored 20 for the seventh time this season. It was the first time since the season opener that two Marauders scored at least 20 points in the same game. Millersville is only 7-5 when a player scores at least 20 points.
· Elijah Obade already holds the Millersville single-season record for blocks in a season and with 137 blocks in 74 career games, he ranks fourth in career blocks. His average of 1.85 per game is second-best all-time behind only Antwine Moore, who totaled 159 blocks in 78 games. His 11.5 rebounds per game is the best average by a Marauder since 1970. He leads the PSAC in blocks, rebounding and double-doubles. He ranks fourth nationally in rebounds, ninth in blocks and 12th in double-doubles.
· Millersville has to hope that
Jaymes Miller is healthy for Saturday's game. Miller has scored in double figures in all five of his career games against Mansfield and is averaging 13.5 per game vs. the Mountaineers--well above his career average of 8.8 points per game. Millersville's win on Feb. 2 snapped an eight-game skid against the Mountaineers. Millersville has not win at Mansfield since 2008, and that was a 95-92 overtime decision. Millersville has won only five games at Mansfield since 1997.
ABOUT MANSFIELD
· Mansfield is coming off a much-needed 73-66 win at Bloomsburg. Chuck Harper scored four points in the final 50 seconds to help Mansfield stay in the PSAC Tournament mix. Mansfield is locked in a three-way tie with Shippensburg and Bloomsburg for the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds and leads Kutztown by one game with two to play. Mansfield's struggles have been most noticeable at the defensive end, where it ranks 16th in the PSAC in scoring defense at 77.8 points per game. Opponents are shooting 47.3 percent from the field. Millersville knows all about reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Year Joe Bell. He scored 54 points in two games in 2012. He led Mansfield with 19 in the first meeting of 2013, but scored 11 of those in the final minutes when Millersville held a sizable lead.
