BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Millersville's Caden Najdawi dominated the first five minutes of Saturday's 83-71 road win at Bloomsburg. But when he exited with an injury in the first half, the Marauders needed someone to step up. Khari Williams obliged. The junior guard scored 16 of his season-high 24 in the second half, making all five of his shots from the field, extending Millersville's winning streak to three and helping the team to its first road win of the season. 

Millersville (8-7, 5-4 PSAC) and Bloomsburg (7-8, 4-5 PSAC) entered the game with identical records, but the Marauders picked up a game in the PSAC East standings by shooting 51.6 percent from the field and with five players scoring in double figures. Millersville's record is now above .500 for the first time since Dec. 3 and has won three in a row for the first time since November. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Najdawi, who scored a career-high 28 points three days earlier, scored Millersville's first 10 points and went 5-for-5 on Millersville's first six offensive possessions. But with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, he exited with an injury and did not return. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds in just 14 minutes. 
• Millersville trailed by as many seven in the first period until a 13-2 run over the span of a five minutes gave the Marauders a lead they would not relinquish. Five minutes into the second half, Williams gave Millersville its first double-digit lead at 49-39 and he extended it even further two minutes later when he hit a 3-pointer. 
• Bloomsburg center Max Wagner, playing in his first game since Dec. 21, scored four of Bloomsburg's points in a 7-0 run that cut Millersville's lead to 54-50 with 10:05 to go. Williams held off the Huskies, though, driving for two then finding Brandon Craig for another bucket to get the lead back to eight. Bloomsburg pulled no closer than seven the rest of the game, and in the final minute, James Sullivan and Williams combined to hit 7-of-8 free throws. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• In addition to his game-high 24, Williams led the team with four assists. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, 2-of-2 from three and 8-of-9 from the line. Sullivan added 14 points with four assists and two steals. Justin Nwosu totaled 13 points and eight rebounds. Craig came off the bench and recorded a double-double with a career-high 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes. 
• Nearly half (40) of Millersville's points were scored in the paint. Millersville won despite making a season-low three 3-pointers. Millersville held Bloomsburg to 3-of-16 shooting from three. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH STITZEL
• On the road victory: "This was a gut check win for our guys. When you have had a year like we've had, you are either going to die and think about next year or keep fighting. They are fighting, playing for each other, playing for the guys who are out, listening, letting us coach them hard. It's paying off. They are hitting adversity head on. This season will help them down the road away from the game too."
• On how the team came together for the win: "The biggest thing was early, we made them comfortable on the offensive end but then we turned up the D. It carried over to the second half. We created some turnovers. We attacked against their press break. Ryan (Davis) Brandon (Craig), Gabe (Kier) were terrific off the bench."
• On Williams' performance: "Every time someone goes down we have to reinvent ourselves. Khari started out the season as a spot up guy. Now he is developing his game and doing a little bit of everything. When Caden went out we couldn't get the ball inside as well. We thought we could take advantage of the ball screens. Khari and James did a great job coming off screens and getting to the basket, not settling for jumpers and then making clutch free throws at the end."

NOTES
• Millersville has shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of the last three games, which have all been victories. 
• Millersville has won three in a row over Bloomsburg after losing six in a row between 2015-2018. Millersville has also won two in a row at Bloomsburg after losing 10 in a row between 2009-2018. 
• Williams has scored 20 or more four times this season. ​​​Nwosu has scored in double figures in four consecutive games. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville makes a rare mid-week road trip to the PSAC West on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The Marauders play Slippery Rock, tipping at 7:30 p.m. Millersville has played at Slippery Rock just three times in the last 10 years.