Clarion, Pa. - The pace of the game of was a little slow for Millersville's liking. So the Marauders turned to a full court press, turned up the tempo and ran away with an 89-59 win Tuesday night at Clarion.
Millersville (6-4, 3-1 PSAC) forced 21 turnovers and turned those into 27 points. Millersville employed the press with the score 30-28 and just under four minutes left in the first half. Millersville immediately forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions, ripped off an 8-0 run to push its lead back to double digits. The Marauders never again led by fewer than eight points.
"We started quickly and attacked early on offense," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "Our defense wasn't that good, they were just missing shots. They started making shots on our mistakes and got back in the game. I think the press changed it. In the second half, we got back to playing the defense that has got us some good wins lately. We started defending, rebounding, defending without fouling."
Marcus Adkison, who matched
James Sullivan for game high honors with 18 points, scored eight points in the first 1:27 of the second half, setting the tone for a final 20 minutes in which Millersville outscored Clarion 49-27, hitting 60 percent of its shots (and 6 of 10 threes).
Clarion's Jonathan Williams, the reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Week after scoring 27 points against Mansfield, was limited to four points, four turnovers and four fouls in 15 minutes. A change in defensive assignments resulted in Williams being held in check as well as Caden Njdawi totaling three blocked shots.
"I thought Justin (Nwosu) did a great job," said Stitzel. "We moved him over on Williams and let Caden (Najdawi) roam a little more and change some shots at the rim. Our effort was much better on the glass and on the defensive end in the second half."
Millersville entered December with an 0-3 road record but has since won back-to-back road games--both against PSAC opponents--by an average margin of 30.5 points. It was Clarion's largest margin of defeat of the season. It marks the first time that Millersville has won back-to-back road games since the start of the 2015-16 season and the first time since 2012-13 that Millersville has won back-to-back road games against PSAC West teams.
"We've had a lot of practice time. Ever since the Wilmington game, we've been a different team. That is the big advantage of playing good teams on the road in non-conference. Whether you win or lose, there is learning to be done for this stretch of five conference games. We are buying in, we share the ball, our players like each other. Our practices are not only competitive, but the players are having fun. It is a fun group to be around. They are maturing in front of our eyes. As a coach, that is a really great feeling."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville shot 55.7 percent from the field while holding Clarion to 36.7 percent. The Marauders made 9 of 20 3-pointers while holding Clarion to 1 of 13 from three.
• Adkison and Sullivan led four Marauders in double figures. Sullivan made both of his 3-pointer attempts and sank all six free throws. Adkison led the team with eight rebounds.
• Freshman
Jaden Faulkner made 7 of 10 shots for 15 points and added six assists and five rebounds.
NOTES
• Millersville has won three of its last four games with all three wins coming by double digits. The lone loss in the at span was a one-point loss to No. 3-ranked IUP.
• Millersville has forced 21 or more turnovers four times and is 4-0 in those games. The Marauders have forced at least 19 turnovers in three consecutive games.
• Complete home/road records at Millersville date back to 1983-84, and since that season, Millersville had never won back-to-back road games by 30 or more points until Tuesday's win.
QUOTABLE
• "When we share the ball and make the extra pass, we have really talented players who can make a good play. We are getting 15-plus assists every game, and when you do that you have a chance to be a good team." -
Casey Stitzel
UP NEXT
• Millersville completes its PSAC West back-to-back with a road game at Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
•
Be the first to know what's going on with the Marauders -- Follow @VilleMarauders on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Millersville Athletics on Facebook, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To support the Marauders, join the Black & Gold Club.
