THE MATCH-UP
• Millersville is back in Pucillo Gymnasium Saturday where it holds a 6-1 record. At home, the Marauders have out-scored opponents by an average of 11 points per game, scoring 85.3 points per game while allowing just 74.3. Millersville shoots at a 47.9 percent clip at home while holding opponents to 40.8 percent. Millersville has also converted 35.6 percent of its threes, reached the foul line 53 more times than its opponent and has blocked 30 more shots (44 to 14) in home games.
• Millersville and Shepherd meet for the first time as a PSAC East foes and for just the second time since 1992. This marks the second consecutive season that the teams have played after going 16 years without a meeting. Throughout the 80s and early 90s, Millersville and Shepherd were familiar foes, playing nine times between 1983-1992. The last time Shepherd came to Pucillo Gymnasium was in 1992, and Millersville won that game 113-96. Shepherd has never won in five prior trips to Pucillo.
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Khari Williams led Millersville with 21 points against Slippery Rock and has scored 20 or more points four times. He has led the team in scoring a team-high five times. Williams has averaged 16.4 points per game over the last seven games with four 20-point games in that stretch. He has made a three in 10-straight games and is shooting 42.6 percent from three and 52.2 percent from the field during that stretch. Williams recorded a season-high four steals against Slippery Rock. His assists numbers have also jumped up, averaging 2.8 per game over the last nine games. Williams' ranks fifth in the PSAC in free throw percentage.
• After missing two consecutive games in December,
Justin Nwosu has returned with five conseuctive games with 13 or more points. He has averaged 16.6 points per game in the five games since his return, shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Nwosu has also recorded at least one steal in each of the last four games with six total.
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James Sullivan has recorded at least one steal in 15 of 16 games and ranks 13th in the PSAC with 1.4 per game. Sullivan also ranks sixth in the league in minutes played.
• Millersville played at Slippery Rock without
Caden Najdawi and
D'Marco Suggs logged his second start of the season in Najdawi's place. Suggs started for the first time since game one of the season. He is one of eight Marauders with at least two starts. Millersville has used six different starting lineups in 16 games. Only Sullivan and Williams have started all 16 games.
SHEPHERD RAMS (7-9, 3-7 PSAC)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. SU: 8-4
Series Streak: SU, 1
First Meeting: 1966-67 (W, 92-74)
Last Meeting: 2018-19 (L, 73-81)
Last 10 Meetings: Ville, 7-3
Casey Stitzel vs. SU: 0-1
Justin Namolik vs. Millersville: 1-0
SCOUTING THE RAMS
• Shepherd is 1-6 on the road but on Wednesday, it snapped a four-game skid by defeating East Stroudsburg, 82-78. Jarrell Jones led the Rams with 29 points, hitting 6-of-8 from three. Leading scorer Thomas Lang, who has three games of 31 or more points (including 42 vs. Bowie State), was limited to five points vs. East Stroudsburg. Lang ranks eighth in the PSAC in scoring average and is sixth in free throw percentage. Shepherd's 205 free throw attempts are the fewest of any team in the league. Conversely, its 509 3-pointer attempts are 71 more than any other team in the league. The Rams convert 40.9 percent, which is second-highest and the the best among teams with at least 300 attempts.
THE LAST MEETING (Nov. 9, 2018 - Shepherd 81, Millersville 73)
• The difference came at the free throw line. Shepherd made 12 free throws in a 15-4 run to close the first half, and Millersville never recovered in an 81-73 season-opening loss. Millersville (0-1) shot a better percentage (.472), made more threes (9 for 20), and had fewer turnovers (12 to 14), but while the Marauders shot 10 for 19 from the line, Shepherd hit 25 of 34, including 17 in the first half alone.
LAST 10 MEETINGS
2018-19 (at Shepherd) - Shepherd 81, Millersville 71
1992-93 (at Millersville) - Millersville 113, Shepherd 96
1991-92 (at Shepherd) - Shepherd 85, Millersville 58
1990-91 (at Millersville ) - Millersville 83, Shepherd 81
1989-90 (at Millersville) - Millersville 95, Shepherd 90
1989-90 (at Shepherd) - Millersville 96, Shepherd 72
1987-88 (at Shepherd) - Shepherd 102, Millersville 101
1986-87 (at Millersville) - Millersville 96, Shepherd 68
1985-86 (at Shepherd ) - Millersville 89, Shepherd 67
1983-84 (at Millersville - Millersville 77, Shepherd 69
