Millersville, Pa. - Millersville shook off some of the holiday rust Saturday, cruising to a 93-50 win over visiting Penn State Fayette behind 29 points from Marcus Adkison. With head coach Casey Stitzel celebrating the arrival of his second son, Jackson, assistant coach Adam Van Zelst coached the Marauders to their widest margin of victory of the season.

From Adkison's 3-pointer on the game's first possession, the result was never in doubt for the Marauders (7-5). With just two days of practice to get ready for the game after Christmas break, execution wasn't always precise, but Millersville still shot 50 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three, forced 27 turnovers and totaled a season-high 19 steals.

"It is funky; it is a tough time of year," said Van Zelst. "There was definitely a lot of rust. There were times when you look around wondering what is going on. But I thought our guys did a good job staying together and talking each other through it. It is always hard with just two practices to get ready, but our players did a good job--especially late in the second half--battling through that rust."

Millersville put together a five-minute burst in each half that helped it pull away. The Marauders closed the first on a 10-1 run that included five points from freshman Justin Nwosu, building a 44-21 advantage at the break. The lead didn't expand much until late in the second half. Penn State Fayette cut the Marauders' lead to 25 (73-48) with 6:17 to play, but after a timeout, Adkison drilled 3-pointers on three of four possessions, and Jaden Faulkner added a fast break dunk, a fast break layup, and a 3-pointer to go with three steals and two assists in a little more than two minutes. Millersville outscored Penn State Fayette 20-2 over the final 5:55. 

"I thought we share the ball for the most part," said Van Zelst. "We had two very good five-minute spurts where we passed well and defended well."

Adkison's 29 was a season-high, but Millersville also received 19 points, a career-high eight assists, six rebounds and a career-high six steals from Faulkner. Nwosu matched a career-high with 16. James Sullivan filled the box score with 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks.

"We are trying to get more guys involved," said Van Zelst. "We know that once we get to conference play, teams key on Marcus. We saw that against Pitt-Johnstown. The more contributions we get, the harder we are to guard. We have guys who can do it. They just need some more confidence. A game like this is great to get them more confidence and more touches."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville turned defense into offense with 29 points off of turnovers and 29 fast break points.
• Adkison's seven 3-pointers made matched a season high.
• Amadou Kaba totaled a season-high eight rebounds to go with eight points.
• Sullivan has recorded at least one steal in every game this season and has 13 steals in the last five.
• Millersville's 11 3-pointers made are the third-most of the season. The 10 free throws attempted were the fewest of the season.
• Millersville is a strong second-half team. The 20 second-half field goals Saturday were a season-high, and the 49 second-half points matched a season high. Millersville has scored 40 or more second-half points in nine of 12 games.

NOTES
• Millersville has won 11 consecutive games against a Penn State campus program. Its last loss came to Penn State Mont Alto in 1909. Saturday was the first-ever meeting between Millersville and Penn State Fayette.
• At 7-5, Millersville is off to its best start through 12 games since the 2012-13 club started 8-4.
• Millersville played without the services of starter and second-leading scorer Caden Najdawi, who sat out with an injury. It snapped a streak of 31 consecutive starts for Najdawi.

QUOTABLE
• "It wasn't the first time I've (been acting head coach). It's a little nerve-racking. Mostly I don't want to let coach down. I want to do what is best for him and the players. It's a little different." - Adam Van Zelst

UP NEXT
• Saturday's game was the start of a four-game home stand for the Marauders. Millersville begins PSAC East play on Jan. 5 against West Chester at 3 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.