MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The shots just wouldn't fall: layups, open looks from three, jumpers in the paint. Nothing would go down for Millersville in the second half of Monday's 86-70 PSAC Tournament loss to Kutztown. It was the worst possible time to shoot season-low 34.3 percent from the field.

Millersville made 10-of-38 shots and missed 15 3-pointers in the second half alone. Kutztown shot a respectable 15-of-32 percent and made 15-of-18 free throws during its second-half comeback, out-scoring the Marauders 48-28 in the final 20 minutes. It was the lowest-scoring half of the season for Millersville. 

The second half started just fine for the Marauders, making four of their first six shots and building a 54-43 lead in the first four minutes. Kutztown switched to a zone defense, and Millersville missed its next eight shots, including four threes. The trend never changed course. Kutztown out-scored Millersville 32-7 over the next 13 minutes with Millersville making just 3-of-21 shots and missing all 11 3-pointers in that span.

"They clogged the paint with the zone," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "For the most part I thought we made decent reads. I'm going to watch that film tomorrow and probably cry a little bit because we were wide open on a lot of those shots. We did a good job getting into the paint and made good passes to good, open shooters. We just missed shots. Then we'd get into the lane and miss a layup."

The lack of offense directly impacted Millersville's defense. The Marauders did a bang-up job on the PSAC's leading scorer in the first half, holding Anthony Lee to 3-of-7 shooting from the field and Kutztown to 12-of-32 shooting (1-of-9 from three). With Millersville unable to set its half-court defense after missed shots, Kutztown--the PSAC's second-highest scoring offense--was able to play its usual, up-tempo pace.

"If we had hit some shots it would have change the game," said Stitzel. "With us missing so many shots they were able to get out in transition. When we have our defense set we are tough to score against. Those missed shots really allowed them to get going."

While the the Marauders' season ended with a defeat in their first home playoff game since 2015, the silver lining could be found in the play of freshmen Justin Nwosu and Jaden Faulkner, who shouldered the offensive burden with 21 points apiece. The duo shot 14-of-26 from the field while the rest of the team combined to shoot 9-for-41. Millersville won 16 games with the second-youngest roster in the PSAC.

"That's the tough thing about losses like today," said Stitzel. "You tend to forget the good things we did, but yes, we made a lot of progress: six more wins, three more conference wins in fewer conference games. We really grew up. You hate to lose a game where you just can't make a shot but we hope to continue to make steps forward."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Nwosu scored 16 of his 21 in the first half, and Faulkner connected on 5-of-5 shots from the field for 13 points in the first half.  Faulkner also totaled nine rebounds and five assists. Nwosu totaled six rebounds.
• Lee scored 26--one point under his season average--shooting 5-of-17 from the field. The PSAC leader in free throws attempted made 14-of-15 at the line. He was joined in double figures by four Golden Bears. Josh Townsend scored 11 of his 17 in the second.

NOTES
• Millersville swept the regular season series with Kutztown, winning on the road 94-92 and in double overtime at home, 106-98.
• The game was the 214th all-time meeting between the programs but just the third in the postseason and first since 2008. It was Kutztown's first-ever postseason win over Millersville. It was Millersville's first home PSAC Tournament loss since 1990, ending a streak of six consecutive wins.
• Faulkner capped his rookie season with 61 steals, tying him for 10th on the program's single-season list. He is the only freshman in the top 10. His 4.9 assists per game rank eighth in program history, and his 400 points scored are the most by a Marauder freshman since Charlie Parker in 2004-05.
• Marcus Adkison finished his three-year Millersville career with 1,389 points, which ranks 17th all-time. He also ranks second in 3-pointers made with 239, third in free throw percentage at .809 and fifth with 154 steals.

QUOTABLE
"We just have to keep getting better. We have some really talented players and those talented players need to become winning basketball players. Every player we recruit is talented, all-state, MVP of the league. But winners make all the little plays. We need to keep working on that. They keep working, they'll get there." - Casey Stitzel
 

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