Shippensburg, Pa. - Saturday's 61-54 win at Shippensburg was exactly the kind of win that Millersville needs if it is to continue to make a run in the PSAC East. On the road, against a team just behind them in the division standings, and their top scorer without his usual production, the Marauders held off a late Shippensburg run using a combination of hustle defense and clutch offense.
Millersville (9-9, 6-7) has now won three in a row for the first time this season and has evened its record at .500 for the first time since starting 1-1. The Marauders have won five of the last seven and have now moved into third place in the PSAC East.
Kelvin Parker, who had averaged better than 20 points per game over his last six games, scored seven in the first half but disappeared in the second. His streak of 28 consecutive games in double figures was in jeopardy until he scored seven key points in the final 33 seconds that put the Raiders well in the Marauders' rearview.
Millersville improved to 7-0 when holding teams to fewer than 60 points. The Marauders clamped down on Shippensburg, holding the home team to 33.3 percent shooting--well below its 46.3 percent average.
Eddie Callender, who scored a team-high 18 points, put Millersville in front 29-28 with just over a minute remaining in the first half, and the Marauders led the rest of the way.
But the Marauders hardly coasted to the win. After the lead advanced to 13 points with 12:59 to play, Shippensburg used a 16-6 run over the next 12 minutes to cut Millersville's advantage to 53-50 with just 55 seconds to play .Millersville shot 3-of-17 in the stretch, but the defense kept Shippensburg without a 3-point field goal and to just 4-of-12 shooting.
After Ship center Dylan Edgar hit his two free throws with 55 seconds left,
Tavon Parker answered just 10 ticks later with a reverse layup. Freshman
Sam Light made an all-out hustle play to steal the ball off the inbounds. And with the ball in Millersville's possession, up five with 33 seconds left, it was
Kelvin Parker time. Parker hit a pair of free throws, and after his younger brother Tavon swatted a Shippensburg 3-point attempt, Parker finished at the other end with a slam dunk. Millersville's nine-point lead was insurmountable for the Raiders. Kelvin finished it off with two more foul shots, giving him 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 4-of-4 shooting from the line. Kelvin has now made 27 consecutive foul shots.
Callender added 11 rebounds to his 18 points for a double-double. He also recorded three steals. Tavon scored 12 points and grabbed five boards.
Anthony Moe fouled out after 12 minutes but was effective in that time with nine points, four rebounds and a block.
Millersville steps out of PSAC play for a non-conference home game against Wilmington on Monday evening.
