Millersville, Pa. - Millersville trailed Kutztown by seven with just 2:31 remaining in the second overtime. The Marauders' leading scorer, another starter, and their sixth man had fouled out. Cue the walk-on freshman, the player a season removed from a blown Achilles and the player who now has to be the front runner for PSAC East Freshman of the Year. Jaden Faulkner scored a career-high 35 points while playing every single minute of the game, and it was his opportunistic defense and clutch scoring combined with Mekhi Hendricks' beyond-his-years play and Amadou Kaba's veteran resolve that helped Millersville close the game on a 15-0 run and win 106-98. 

The win gives Millersville (16-10, 11-7) its first home PSAC Tournament game since 2015 and its first series sweep of Kutztown since 2014.

With Marcus Adkison, James Sullivan and Jamal Washington all on the bench with five fouls, the Marauders played the final 4:07 with three true freshmen. Faulkner and Hendricks hardly looked like first-year players, however. Faulkner's 35 are the most on record by a Millersville freshman (dating to 2003). He added eight rebounds, six assists and four steals while going toe-to-toe with PSAC East Player of the Year favorite and the conference's leading scorer Anthony Lee, who had 36 points and 12 boards.

"He's special," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel of Faulkner. "I don't hype up my recruits, but I knew we had something in him. He's a winner, tangibles are off the chart and he's a natural leader. He played almost the whole game. He has changed the way we play on offense. He's unbelievable and is going to be a special player over the rest of his time at Millersville."

Hendricks had never played more than 21 minutes in a game, and he logged more than 40 Wednesday, scoring a career-high 18 points (his previous best was nine) on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from three. 

"Mehki makes big time plays," said Stitzel. "Mekhi doesn't get phased. I learned that very early on watching him in scrimmages. His three in the second overtime was a big time shot."

Both teams missed potential game-winners in the final 30 seconds of regulation. Kutztown's Da'Quan Granberry, who finished with eight points, hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in the first overtime before Millersville came up empty on two chances on its last possession of the OT. With Lee leading the charge, Kutztown opened the second overtime on a 9-2 run. Lee scored every one of those points while Millersville had two turnovers and missed three of four shots.

With the Marauders down 98-91, Hendricks turned the tide. It started with a bucket and a three-point play opportunity that he did not convert. At the other end, Lee drove hard to the right and Caden Najdawi, who swatted a career-high five shots and finished with a 17-point, 18-rebound double-double, turned away Lee's runner. Kaba grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit one-of-two to pull Millersville within four. After a pair of missed Kutztown free throws, Hendricks drilled a three from the top of the key with 1:22 left that pulled Millersville to within 98-97. Stitzel called a timeout, and the Marauders switched to a full-court press that proved key. 

"It was great that we saved the press for that situation," said Stitzel. "If we had used it earlier we may have had some fatigue issues with how long the game went."

With the press in effect, the Marauders created steals on three consecutive possessions and turned each one into points. Out of the timeout, Faulkner stole the ball and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 to tie the game. Kaba then forced a turnover, drew a foul in the process, and splashed both foul shots for Millersville's first lead of the second OT. Faulkner then intercepted a pass in the backcourt, sprinted ahead of the pack and emphatically threw down a dunk for a 102-98 lead. Millersville closed the game with stops on Kutztown's last eight possessions. Forced to foul, Kutztown sent Kaba and then rookie Brandon Craig to the line in the final 25 seconds. Kaba and Craig made all four foul shots as Millersville made seven in a row to close the game. 

"That was crazy and it was a crazy atmosphere," said Stitzel. "We put guys like Brandon Craig in who didn't play the whole game and that just shows the culture we have. Our bench guys are always ready to go. We wouldn't have won this game two months ago. Everything went [Kutztown's] way at the start of the second overtime period and you start wondering if we had anything left. But then we went to the full court press and that changed the game. We might play them again so we'll have to keep that in mind. Our guys did a really good job of forcing them to make the right decision."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• While there was plenty of late-game excitement, the game also featured 58 fouls and 78 free throw attempts. Millersville shot 25-of-40 while Kutztown shot 25-of-38. Lee went 15-for-17 from the line. Faulkner was Millersville's leader, hitting 9-of-14. 
• Five Marauders finished in double figures. Adkison scored 11 of 14 in the second half before exiting with five fouls. Jamal Washington chipped in 10, making 2-of-3 from three. 
• Faulkner did not exit the game, playing all 50 minutes. He is the first Marauder to play 50 or more since Mike Seibert's 51 minutes in Millersville's triple OT win over Bloomsburg in 2011. 
• Najdawi recorded his eighth double-double of the season while setting career highs in blocks and rebounds. His 18 boards were the most by a Marauder since Anthony Moe totaled 18 twice in 2015. 
• Millersville's bench accounted for 37 points. 

NOTES
• Millersville's win secures the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kutztown and locks up the No. 4 seed in the PSAC East. The first round game will take place on Monday, March 4 against the No. 5 seed. 

QUOTABLE
"[Clinching a home playoff game] is a credit to the guys. I didn't have much to sell to them, but they believed in me and the vision of the program. It's a big credit to them with where the program is at and where we're heading." - Casey Stitzel

UP NEXT
• Millersville plays its final regular season road game on Saturday at Lock Haven. Lock Haven is battling with Kutztown for positioning in the East Division standings. Tip is set for 3 p.m. 

---

FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
• Be the first to know what's going on with the Marauders -- Follow @VilleMarauders on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Millersville Athletics on Facebook, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To support the Marauders, join the Black & Gold Club.