ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• Millersville's longest PSAC winning streak since 2008 was stopped at five by East Stroudsburg Wednesday, and the Marauders continue their three-game road stretch with a trip to Mansfield Saturday. The Marauder beat Mansfield 90-67 earlier in January behind a combined 45 points from freshmen
Jaden Faulkner and
Justin Nwosu. It was Millersville's third consecutive win over Mansfield and ninth in its last 10 meetings. Millersville has won three of the last four at Decker Gymnasium but the last six games at Decker have been decided by an average of just over 5 points per game. Prior to the first match-up of 2019, the two teams had 11 of 12 games decided by single digits.Â
• Three PSAC East teams have already clinched playoff berths and Millersville is closing in on doing the same. The Marauders are six games clear of Bloomsburg with seven games to play. A win Saturday coupled with a Bloomsburg loss would put the Marauders on the verge of clinching. Currently in fourth place, the Marauders are playing for a home playoff game, standing two games clear of fifth-place Kutztown and just two games out of second place.Â
• Now 20 games into the season, several benchmarks for success for the Marauders have emerged. Defense is key as the Marauders are 8-0 when holding opponents to under 70 points and 11-3 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent. The Marauders are also 10-4 when committing fewer turnovers and 12-3 when scoring more points off of turnovers. While Millersville has out-rebounding its opponent in just six of 20 games, it is 6-0 in those games. On offense, the magic number is 80. Millersville is 7-1 when topping that mark.Â
• While the Maruaders are challenging the top of the PSAC East, they still boast the second-youngest starting lineup in the PSAC with two freshmen and two sophomores holding four of the spots. Rookies
Jaden Faulkner and
Justin Nwosu have combined to win four PSAC East Freshman of the Week awards and most recently combined for 38 points against East Stroudsburg. Faulkner has led the Marauders in scoring five times, assists 12 times and steals seven times. In his last two games, Nwosu has shot 13-for-22 from the field and 9-for-12 from the line for 18.5 points per game. He's scored double-figures 11 times. Over the last 11 games, Faulkner has averaged 16.5 points and 5.3 assists per game. He ranks eighth in the PSAC in assists and seventh in steals.Â
SERIES AT A GLANCE
Series vs. Mans: 89-59
Series Streak: Ville, 3
First Meeting: 1903-04 (L, 9-10)
Last Meeting: 2019 (W, 90-67)
Last 10 Meetings: 9-1
Casey Stitzel vs. Mans: 4-1
John Szentesy vs. Millersville: 0-1
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
• Mansfield has won two in a row after enduring a 13-game losing streak. The Mountaineers picked up a home win over Bloomsburg (88-80) before beating Frostburg State in a non-conference game, 64-51. Leading scorer Tyler Moffee scored a season-high 31 against Bloomsburg and second-leading scorer Taylor Sweeney led with 21 against Frostburg. Four Mountaineers average double figures. Mansfield ranks 14th in the PSAC in both scoring offense and scoring defense and 15th in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.Â
THE LAST MEETING (Jan. 12, 2019 - Millersville 90, Mansfield 67)
• Freshman
Jaden Faulkner scored a career-high 23 points, and his classmate
Justin Nwosu hit a career high with 22, sparking Millersville to a 90-67 home win. Faulkner sank 9-of-14 shots, handed out a team-high five assists and recorded three steals while Nwosu hit 10-of-14 to top 20 points for the first time in his collegiate career.
Caden Najdawi added his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. With Najdawi and Nwosu scoring around the bucket, and Faulkner scoring on aggressive dribble drives, the Marauders dominated the interior, outscoring Mansfield 48-22 in the paint.
