MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - It was an intense trial by fire for the Millersville underclassmen. Already down two starters, the Marauders lost James Sullivan and Khari Williams to fouls with four minutes left in regulation. A lineup that included two freshmen and two sophomores battled visiting Cal U for two overtime periods but ran out of steam late in a wild 106-102 PSAC game. 

Caden Najdawi scored a career-high 26 points and matched a career-high with 18 rebounds while freshman Gerard Mungo and sophomore Mekhi Hendricks hit career highs with 17 apiece and sophomore Brandon Craig pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and blocked five shots. 

It was Millersville's second overtime game in the last four and it was the fourth consecutive game decided by eight points or fewer. The Marauders led for 40:29 of the 50-minute game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Two threes from Sullivan and one from Hendricks on three consecutive possessions gave the Marauders a 79-68 advantage with 5:27 to play. But Williams, who had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three threes, was whistled for his fifth foul with 4:51 left, and less than a minute later, the Marauders lost Sullivan, who was serving as the primary ball handler and had made 4-of-5 threes. The Vulcans then chipped away. Down six with under two minutes left, Zyan Collins hit a 3-pointer. Brent Pegram came up with a steal and pushed it ahead to Tim Smith, Jr., who tied the game at 85-85 with another three. At the other end, Mungo penetrated, missed but got his own rebound, made the put-back and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to give Millersville an 88-85 advantage with 56 seconds left in regulation. Smith, Jr., hit again with 39 seconds left, tying the game and setting up overtime. The Marauders had the ball with a chance for the lead in the closing seconds. Hendricks missed a three from the top of the key. Mungo grabbed the offensive board but missed a contested three of his own.
• The Marauders held a late lead again in the first overtime after Najdawi's bucket put them up 97-94. Cal's Collins came back with a three-point play. The Marauders had two looks to take the lead in the final minute but threes from both Ryan Davis and Hendricks missed. Collins' fadeaway in the paint with time expiring was short and the teams went to the second overtime tied at 97. 
• Millersville led 102-99 with 1:31 left in the second overtime when Jermaine Hall Jr., drew a foul and made two foul shots. Millersville missed an open three, and Pegram attacked for the Vulcans, driving for two for a Cal U lead. With 32 seconds left, Millersville missed another three, but it wasn't their last chance. Collins made 1-of-2 foul shots for a 104-102 Cal lead. The Marauders put the ball in the hands of Hendricks with 12 seconds left. He handed off to Mungo who popped a three from the top of the key. It hit back iron and the high rebound was tipped back by Najdawi but it rimmed out.  
• After scoring 34 in the first half, Cal U scored 54 on 50 percent shooting and made 9-of-15 threes in the second. Millersville shot 18-of-30 (.600) and made 7-of-13 threes in the second half but shot just 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from three in the two overtimes. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Despite playing just 28:01 minutes, Williams scored 20 for the second consecutive game. 
• Millersville shot 21-of-23 from the line. Mungo made 7-of-7 and Hendricks sank 6-of-6. 
• Craig's 13 boards were eight more than his previous career high and before his five-block effort Saturday, he had blocked just one shot this season. 
• Mungo had played a total of 39 minutes in the team's first 10 games but he logged 29:46 on Saturday. He scored his first career points on Friday night before scoring 17 Saturday. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH STITZEL
• On how the young players handled the pressure down the stretch: "I thought they played their hearts out. When you get in the situation with a couple of guys out and then a couple of guys get in foul trouble it is hard using lineups that you don't practice with. Considering that, I thought they did well. We got the ball inside to Caden. A couple of the outside shots didn't go in but they will in the future. I thought they fought. Brandon (Craig) was awesome. Mungo was terrific; really changed the game. Honestly, I thought the three he took at the end of the game was going in."
• On gaining experience for when the team gets healthy: "We've had three games out of 11 where we have had our whole team. Every game has been different. There have been guys in different roles every game. All the adversity we have dealt with this semester will help us in the second semester. We are going to be built for it and guys are going to be more prepared."
• On the energy of Brandon Craig: "He went through a period where he didn't know what his role was. He was a guy who missed all the scrimmages with an injury. The last three games, he's been great. If he can continue to play that way, bringing energy off the bench, he is going to be a really good player for us."
• On learning from adversity: "The two advantages to having the semester that we've had where we haven't had our full group is getting guys experience that they wouldn't have gotten. Hopefully we'll be stronger down the stretch. I don't know if there is a team in our conference who has been through as much so far this year. I think that makes us battle-tested. We are getting better. We didn't play well against Georgian Court but this weekend our defense was better. We out-rebounded two opponents. We made some shots. We just needed a couple more. Guys are getting more comfortable in their new roles."

NOTES
• Najdawi (49:08) and Hendricks (49:19) set career highs in minutes played. 
• The loss was Millersville's first at home this season and Cal U's first win at Pucillo Gymnasium since 2007-08. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville is off until Jan. 3 when it opens PSAC East play with a road game at Shippensburg.