ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• PSAC play begins this weekend. Millersville is 2-0 at home this season and five of its eight PSAC wins last season at home. IUP enters ranked No.3 in Division II. Millersville upset a nationally-ranked team at home in each of the previous two seasons.
• Millersville holds a 43-20 lead in the all-time series with California, dating back to 1930-31. Millersville won 23 of the first 25 meetings between 1931 and 1962. In more recent seasons, it has been an evenly-matched series with the teams splitting the last 14 meetings since 2003-04. Of those games, eight were decided by single digits. Millersville has won four in a row over Cal in Pucillo Gymnasium. The Vulcans' last win in Pucillo came in 2007-08.
• Sunday is just the 39th meeting between Millersville and IUP despite the series starting in 1930-31. IUP has won seven in a row dating back to 2007-08 and has won 12 of the last 14 meetings. Only two of the last seven meetings have come inside Pucillo Gymnasium.
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Marcus Adkison has been the Marauders' top scorer for two-plus seasons but he is also impacting the game in other areas. Not only is Adkison ninth in the PSAC in scoring average (18.7), fifth in free throw percentage and 3-point percentage, he also leads the team in rebounding (6.2), assists (3.3) and steals (2.3). Adkison is tied for fourth in the league in steals per game.
• Adkison's rebounding production has spiked. Entering the season he averaged just 2.8 per game in his career. However, he has already pulled down 10 or more boards twice this season. He grabbed 13 against Georgian Court and 10 against Wilmington for the first double-doubles of his career.
• There is no sophomore slump for
James Sullivan--only improvement. Sullivan started all 29 games as a freshman and averaged 8.7 points per game but shot 36.9 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from three. This season, Sullivan has upped his percentages to .500 from the field and .407 from three. He totaled 35 points in his previous two games including a season-high 19 at Wilmington. He's scored double figures in four in a row and in five of six.
• After scoring double-figures in each of the first four games,
Caden Najdawi has totaled nine points in the last two games. Millersville is 3-0 when Najdawi scores at least 14 points and takes at least 11 shots.
• Freshman
Jaden Faulkner is emerging as a playmaker. In the last two games, he has averaged 15.0 points on 14 of 24 shooting while handing out 4.5 assists per game.
SCOUTING THE VULCANS
• California is in its first season under Danny Sancomb, who coached Wheeling Jesuit for 11 seasons and won the Mountain East Conference last season. Cal picked up its first win (63-55) over Davis & Elkins on Nov. 27. Four Vulcans average double figures, but its a short bench with only seven players logging minutes this season.
THE LAST MEETING (Millersville 78, California 74) - Dec. 4, 2016)
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Marcus Adkison scored 32 points, including 10 in the final 10 minutes. He made 9 of 16 3-pointers and all but three of the team's 3-pointers. Millersville outscored Cal 21-14 in the final 10 minutes.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON HAWKS
• IUP started its season with a national top-10 ranking it has only improved upon that, climbing to No. 3 in both major polls following a 6-0 start. Each of the last four wins have come by double-digits. The start also includes a 70-67 win over then-No. 15 Virginia State.
• Jacobo Diaz is the reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Week. He is sixth in the PSAC with 21.2 points per game and sixth in rebounding at 9.0 per game. Dante Lombardi is fourth in assists per game at 5.8.
THE LAST MEETING (#12 IUP 73, Millersville 63) - Jan. 11, 2017)
• Millersville trailed by as many as 16 in the second half but cut the deficit to 67-61 with 1:20 to play by forcing seven IUP turnovers in a nine-minute stretch.
Marcus Adkison scored 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Anthony Glover led IUP with 27 points. Jacobo Diaz added 15 points and nine rebounds.
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