Millersville, Pa. - Every time the Marauders crept within striking distance, Shippensburg found a bucket for separation. Millersville trailed by no more than eight points over the first 16 minutes of the second half and was within one score of the Raiders 11 times, but it never tied the game and led for a grand total of 17 seconds. Shippensburg pulled away late for a 75-66 win.

Shippensburg improved to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in PSAC while Millersville dropped its second consecutive home game and fell to 7-7 overall and 3-4 in the PSAC.

"We're in the funk a little bit right now," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "We feel it. We've been a different team these last two games. We're wavering a little bit on our confidence. That happens when you play good teams like West Chester and Ship. We didn't play well tonight, but only lost by nine points. We've been right in the last two games we've played even though we were not playing the way we're capable of. We're beating ourselves and need to play more consistently."

The Marauders hit 10-of-24 threes, but Shippensburg, which leads the PSAC in 3-pointer attempts, knocked down 12-of-25. The inconsistency crept in when the Marauders started slowly for the second game in a row. An early barrage of 3-pointers from the Raiders coupled with Millersville's sluggish start put the Marauders down 21-7 6:38 into the game. After neither team made a shot for the first 2:22, Shippensburg knocked down six of its next seven including four threes.

"The turning point of the game came when the ball went up," said Stitzel. "We're not believing in ourselves and not taking the court with a swagger. Earlier this season there were games where even before we took a shot I felt really good. There's a different feel right now. It's tough to get over the hump and beat good teams like West Chester and Ship when you're rebuilding."

Millersville closed the first half on an 8-0 run that included a pair of Marcus Adkison 3-pointers, and slashed Shippensburg's lead to 43-42 with 15:35 to play. Millersville pulled within one point three times in the next three-plus minutes, but each time, Shippensburg scored to boost its advantage back to three or four. The backbreaker for the Marauders came with four minutes to play after Amadou Kaba's 3-pointer cut Shippensburg's lead to 66-63. Shippensburg's John Castello's shot was blocked by Caden Najdawi, but Ship's Dom Sleva hustled down a 50-50 ball and drew a foul. He made the first, missed the second, and Castello grabbed the miss and sank the put back to give Shippensburg a six-point lead with 3:58 to play. Millersville would get no closer.

Four Marauders scored in double figures, but Shippensburg limited the touches of Adkison, the PSAC's third-leading scorer. Adkison totaled a season-low 12 points on just seven shots.

"Teams are keying on him," said Stitzel. "Other guys have to step up and make shots. Teams in the East know each other well and know who to defend. But we have to make other plays that makes it harder for teams to defend him. We got him a little loose at the end of the first half on a couple of new sets that we put in. He also needs to read the defense better when they take away the initial option, he has to read the second and third options."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Najdawi led Millersville with 15 points and five rebounds and blocked three shots for the third time this season.
• James Sullivan bounced back from his 0-for-8 outing against West Chester by hitting all five of his shots for 12 points.
• Jaden Faulkner totaled five steals, giving him 18 in his last five games.
• Millersville totaled 10 steals--the eighth time it has totaled 10 or more. Millersville entered the game ranked 10th in Division II in steals per game.

NOTES
• Millersville had won two in a row against Shippensburg in Pucillo Gymnasium. Wednesday's win was the Raiders' two in its last nine trips to Pucillo.
• Shippensburg dropped out of the NABC Division II top 25 entering Wednesday but was receiving votes.

QUOTABLE
• "It's tough for young players to see that even though we didn't play our best, we lost by less than 10. Both (West Chester and Shippensburg games) it was a one-point game in the second half. It shows that if we can get our mojo and confidence back then we can beat anyone. But it also shows that we can lose to anyone if we don't play well." - Casey Stitzel

UP NEXT
• Millersville rounds out a three-game home stand Saturday against Mansfield. Start time is 3 p.m.
 

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