West Chester, Pa. - A nightmarish first half at the offensive end put Millersville down 20 at the half, and the Marauders could not recover as West Chester won 82-64 for its 12th consecutive win while improving to 10-0 at home.
Millersville scored just 19 first half points, shooting 6-of-30 from the field and 5-of-10 from the free throw line while committing 10 turnovers. West Chester's zone defense often gave the Marauders looks from three, but the visitors converted on just 2-of-14 in the first half and 8-for-27 (.296) in the game.
"We just have to get more consistent with our mindset and how we start games off," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "That's the difference in our last few road games against good teams. We are playing them even or beating them in the second half but we are starting so poorly. We have to work on getting a swagger against these teams that have been good. That's the last step in this rebuild. We've made some progress and done some good things, but we have to find a way to overcome the first 10 minutes on the road."
Poor shooting inside Hollinger Fieldhouse is nothing new for Millersville as it has averaged just 61 points per game in the last 17 trips to the building. Wednesday's 19-point first half came just one year after the Marauders scored 20 in the first half at West Chester.
Millersville played the first 5:09 without making a shot. Still, the Marauders trailed just 16-13 with 8:21 left in the half. West Chester, however, closed the half on a 21-6 run.
Millersville needed just five minutes in the second half to match its first half scoring total. The Marauders made eight of its first nine shots including four consecutive threes, and a 20-10 run cut West Chester's lead to 49-39 with just under 15 minutes to play. But the hot streak could not be sustained. Over the next six minutes, Millersville went 3-for-9 with four turnovers, and West Chester's lead ballooned back to 20 points.
"We started the second half with the ball moving, guys were shooting confidently," said Stitzel. "It's a mystery. That's why coaching can be a tough profession sometimes. What changed? I don't know what changed. We played more free in the second half but when you are down 20 on the road it is really hard to get back, and we had some opportunities."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Justin Nwosu led Millersville with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
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Marcus Adkison scored 13 points, shooting 4-of-12 from the field and 3-of-9 from three. All of his made field goals came in the second half. He also added three steals.
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Jamal Washington added 11 points, and
Jaden Faulkner totaled a career-high nine assists and nine rebounds.
NOTES
• West Chester has now won 11 in a row in the series, which is West Chester's longest winning streak over Millersville.
• Millersville has lost 11 of the last 12 at West Chester and has won in the building just three times since 1996.
QUOTABLE
"(Saturday's home game) is a chance to come back with the right mindset and good for the guys who are struggling. It's tough to play four conference road games in a row, but with this one non-conference game left it is an opportunity for us to work on some things we need to get better with and hopefully get some of our confidence back on the offensive end while keeping up our defensive mentality. Our guys do a really good job coming off a loss and having the right mentality in practice. I'm looking forward to responding to the things we didn't do well tonight." -
Casey Stitzel
UP NEXT
• Millersville steps out of conference play to face Cheyney on Saturday, Feb. 9, returning home for the first time in two weeks. Game time is 4 p.m.
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