Kutztown, Pa. - Millersville men's basketball coach Casey Stitzel often said early this season that his young team was still learning how to win. Well, it looks like the Marauders have learned. For the second game in a row, the Marauders scored a go-ahead basket in the final minute and got a steal on the final defensive stand. Just like a Bloomsburg less than a week ago, it was Jaden Faulkner with the clutch bucket, and this time Marcus Adkison came up with the steal to seal a thrilling, 94-92 win at Kutztown. 

Caden Najdawi scored 20 of his career-high 24 in the second half, and Adkison, who started the game 1-for-8 from the field, scored 16 of his 19 in the final 15 minutes, helping the Marauders to a 58-point second half. The second half alone featured seven lead changes. The win was Millersville's first over Kutztown in nine tries and its first win at Kutztown since 2014. 

"That's a great win for our guys," said Stitzel. "We are learning how to fight through adversity. We went up 10, they got the lead back and went up by eight or nine. A year ago, we probably lose this game by 15. We kept fighting and fighting and making plays and having the right attitude. I am really proud of the guys. We have really grown up the last two games, not only with two wins, but its a big things for young players to deal with adversity. In this league, every night you are playing a good team. These last two games, and tonight especially, are going to help our team going forward. I'm really proud of them."

Kutztown received a Herculean effort from PSAC scoring leader Anthony Lee. Lee pumped in 48 points, making 16-of-23 shots from the field and 11-of-12 foul shots. But he was held scoreless in the final three minutes, and during that time, the Marauders closed with a 15-5 run, overcoming what was a 87-79 deficit at the time of Lee's last points. The Marauders switched to a full court press and forced Lee to commit two turnovers in that same time span--one of which ultimately clinched the win for the Marauders. Millersville forced five turnovers in the final 3:55 and scored 27 points off of 21 total turnovers. 

Najdawi scored six of Millersville's first eight points in the final surge, and his steal and pass to Faulkner for a transition basket pulled the Marauders within 90-89 with 2:02 to play. After a Kutztown bucket, Faulkner hit a pair of free throws to keep Millersville within one. The Marauders got a stop with a shot clock violation with 1:07 to play, and 14 seconds later, Mekhi Hendricks found Faulkner, who put the Marauders on top for good. 

"We had run the same play earlier in the half when Caden was going through his hot streak," said Stitzel. I noticed that Jaden was open on the flex cut so we went back to it knowing that we could either get Jaden on the flex cut or Caden on the duck in. Mekhi made a great read, gave it to Jaden on the run. Jaden does what he does: ball fake, finish with contact. That was huge for us, seeing us back in the lead. It gave us the momentum to finish the game."

Kutztown's Kyree Generret missed from three, and while the Golden Bears grabbed the offensive rebound, a turnover put the ball back in Millersville's hands with 23 seconds to play. James Sullivan was fouled to stop the clock and made 1-of-2 to put the Marauders up by two. Kutztown had one shot left, and everyone in Keystone Hall knew who was taking the last shot. With 3.5 seconds left, Lee broke free, caught the inbound pass for a deep look at three. As Lee pulled up, Adkison swiped away the ball.  

"That was a big-time play," said Stitzel. "That was a great next-level play for him. I don't think he makes that play a year ago. We are very proud of the way he got in there and made big plays at both ends."

Millersville trailed 40-36 at the half, but made 8-of-9 shots and 2-of-2 from for a 20-6 run and a 10-point lead with 14 minutes to play. From the 11:54 mark to the 3:55 mark, though, Kutztown doubled-up the Marauders, outscoring them 32-16 to turn a nine-point deficit into its eight-point lead. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Marauders hit 22-of-27 foul shots in the second half and 28-of-36 in the game, attempting their most free throws in a game since 2014. 
• Hendricks played a career-high 20 minutes and scored all of his career-high nine points in the first half. He made 4-of-6 shots and added four rebounds and two steals.
• Najdawi made 8-of-11 shots, and made 8-of-8 foul shots despite entering the game shooting 50 percent on the season (20-for-40). 
• In addition to his 19 points, Adkison led the team with three steals. 
• Faulkner finished with 17 points and matched a career high with eight assists. He has scored 15 or more in seven of the last eight games and has at least four assists in eight of the last nine. 

NOTES
• Millersville has allowed more than 80 points just three times this season, and Wednesday's game was the first time allowing more than 80 since Nov. 20.
• For the first time since January of 2015, Millersville has won three consecutive PSAC East regular season games.

QUOTABLE
"Mekhi was terrific. He is going to be a really good player. He has shown that in practice. We have been sticking to a seven, eight-man rotation. Against Kutztown you need to score the ball so I thought this would be a great time to check it out. We also had some foul trouble. He was unbelievable defensively at the end of the game and offensively to keep us in it in the first half. He's going to be a really good player down the road." - Casey Stitzel

UP NEXT
• Millersville has two home games to close the week, hosting Lock Haven Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., and Gannon Saturday at 3 p.m. 
 

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