ERIE, Pa. - Saturday's PSAC opener between Millersville and Mercyhurst featured 21 lead changes and 12 ties, and the Lakers, playing home, used a couple of late-game 3-pointers and some clutch free throw shooting to edge the Marauders, 87-85.

Millersville's (3-2, 0-1) three-game winning streak was snapped while Mercyhurst improved to 3-1 (1-0). Millersville's two losses have both come on the road against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19 and have come by a grand total of three points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Neither team led by more than five points over the final 20 minutes. The Lakers first led 51-46 with 15:48 to play before Millersville hit its next five field goals and posted a 13-3 run over the next 2:53 to take its own five-point advantage. Mercyhurst battled back with a 6-0 run to retake the lead with just over eight minutes to play. The teams traded the lead five times until Steve Cannady's three-point play gave the Lakers a 75-72 advantage and the lead for good with 5:37 left.
• James Sullivan, who scored a season-high 20 points, hit a 3-pointer to bring the Marauders to within 80-79 with three minutes to go. The Marauders go a stop on the defensive end, but Sullivan's 3-pointer on the next offensive possession rimmed out. Nicholas Lang's 3-pointer at the other end went down, and the four-point lead with just over a minute left was insurmountable for the Marauders. Jaden Faulkner hit a jumper with 29 seconds left, cutting the Lakers' lead to 84-83, but forced to foul, the Marauders sent MiyKah McIntosh to the line with 20 seconds on the clock, and McIntosh hit both. With nine seconds left, Sullivan hit for two. Lang then turned it over, giving Millersville once last chance. But Millersville could not get off a shot, giving it right back to the Lakers as time expired. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville shot a season-high 61.5 percent from the field but allowed Mercyhurst to hit 58.5 percent, and the real difference came from three, where the Lakers drilled 8-of-13 compared to Millersville's 4-of-9. The Marauders were plus-seven in rebounding and made 21-of-26 free throws while Mercyhurst made 17-of-27.
• Faulkner led all scorers with 27 points--his third game this season with 27 or more. He connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field and 12-of-14 free throws. Faulkner also added nine assists. Caden Najdawi scored a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and completed the double-double with 11 rebounds. Sullivan played the full 40 minutes and knocked down 8-of-10 shots from the field and 2-of-3 from three.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On the team's two road losses: "Definitely two tough road losses to two good teams.I felt like when we had the lead to five with about 10 to go we needed to get it to 10. We have to make some smarter plays so we can extend the lead so we aren't in a one-possession game down the stretch. We will learn from these close losses and the adversity will make us better."
• On the deciding factor in the game: "I feel our defense really struggled in the second half. We had to string together more stops so we could extend the lead. We need to get back to being a defensive team and not trying to outscore teams."

NOTES
• Millersville has scored at least 82 points in all five games but is 1-2 when allowing over 80 points
• Saturday's game marked the first time in the "Statcrew Era," which dates to 2002-03, that three Marauders scored 20 or more points in the same game.

UP NEXT
• Millersville stays in Erie and plays at Gannon Sunday at 3 p.m. Gannon is 0-2 following Saturday's loss to West Chester.