Millersville, Pa. - Bowie State's Zafir Williams scored seven points in the final 90 seconds including a three with 1.3 seconds to go to help the Bulldogs shock the homestanding Millersville Marauders Monday night in Pucillo Gymnasium.
Millersville (3-4) and Bowie State (5-2) exchanged leads 18 times and stood tied five times in a game that truly came down to the final possession. Bowie State had previously defeated Millersville by 16 points this season and had received votes in the most recent D2SIDA Division II Media Poll after topping nationally-ranked East Stroudsburg and coming within two points of nationally-ranked Indiana (Pa.).
Trailing 49-47 with 12 minutes left,
Jalen Lester hit a three that gave Millersville a one point lead. The Marauders pushed its lead to as many as nine with 4:48 to go on
Tyree Smith's 3-pointer, which followed one from
Kelvin Parker.
Williams, who scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting from three, provided the answer for the Bulldogs. He followed Smith's triple with one of his own, and after
Eddie Callender's bucket put Millersville in front 73-67 with 1:36 to go, Williams buried another three and was fouled in the process. He converted the four-point play to pull the Bulldogs to within two.
Millersville had a point-blank look from Callender swatted away by Andre Jackson, giving Bowie State possession with 40 seconds left. The Bulldogs' first look missed and the rebound was hauled in by
Tommy Patterson, but a turnover gave the possession back to Bowie State. Callender blocked a Cameron Knox runner out of bounds with four seconds left. For Bowie State, the third chance was the charm. Knox found Williams off the inbound pass, and he drilled the three from the top of the key with 1.3 seconds left. Millersville last chance ended in a pass skipping out of bounds.
Parker led Millersville with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and hit 3-of-4 from three. He added seven rebounds and four steals, three of which he turned into breakaway dunks.
Tyree Smith hit for double-figures for the third consecutive game, totaling 17 points. Callender added 14 points and a season-high four blocks.
Millersville returns to PSAC Eastern Division action on Wednesday evening against Mansfield. Millersville hosts its first "Wing Wednesday" of the season in which fans can enjoy all-you-can-eat wings, desserts and drinks from MU Dining Services from 6-7:30 p.m. Millersville students can use their meal plans.