MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - In a battle for second place in the PSAC East standings, Millersville flexed some muscle for a 97-71 win over West Chester Wednesday night in Pucillo Gymnasium. Millersville out-rebounded the PSAC's top rebounding club by 15, held the PSAC's top-scoring offense to 15 points below its average and drilled 12-of-24 3-pointers, snapping an 11-game skid against the Golden Rams. 

The Marauders (11-9, 8-6 PSAC), now winners of three in a row and six of eight, sent the sliding Golden Rams (14-6, 8-6 PSAC) to their fifth consecutive loss and did so in convincing fashion. It was the second-straight game in which Millersville won by more than 20 points and the 26-point differential was the largest of the season for West Chester, which was ranked No. 22 in Division II just two weeks ago. Four Marauders scored 18 points or more, and junior Justin Nwosu led the way with a career-high 26. 

West Chester entered the game averaging a league-high 86.0 points per game, but Millersville held the Golden Rams to 35.4 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-21 shooting from three. The Marauders' 12 3-pointers were a season-high and their plus-15 rebounding margin on 46 rebounds was its best of the season--against a team that came in averaging 44 rebounds per game. The win was also Millersville's first against West Chester since 2013 and its largest margin of victory over the Golden Rams since 2008. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
• Millersville never trailed and built a double-digit lead in fewer than six minutes. Between the 8:02 and 4:29 marks in the first half, Millersville ripped off a 11-2 run in which all five players on the floor scored at least two points. That stretch put the Marauders in front 43-23, and they took a 50-35 advantage into the half. Mekhi Hendricks made 3-of-3 from 3-point range and all four of his free throws, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
• West Chester slowly chipped Millersville's lead down to eight with 13:57 to go and still trailed by eight when Nwosu sank a top-of-the-key 3-pointer for some breathing room. With 7:34 to play, West Chester's Robbie Heath converted a 3-point play to make the score 73-63, but Hendricks responded with a 3-pointer, and immediately after a West Chester offensive foul, Khari Williams drilled a 3-pointer, got fouled, and then completed the four-point play, breaking the game wide open. Millersville continued to pour it on, out-scoring West Chester 24-8 over the final seven minutes. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
• Nwosu, who has scored at least 13 points in nine consecutive games, made 11-of-15 shots from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 2-of-2 from the line. He also blocked two shots and grabbed eight rebounds. 
• Despite missing the bulk of the second half in foul trouble, Williams finished with 19 points, sinking 3-of-4 from three and 8-of-9 from the line. In a little more than 23 minutes of playing time, he tallied an eye-popping plus-36 plus/minus. 
• Hendricks and Sullivan both scored 18. Hendricks made at least four threes for the third consecutive game while also leading the team with five assists. Sullivan added nine rebounds--all on the defensive glass. Caden Najdawi returned to the lineup after missing four games with an injury and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On pulling away in the second half: "The big thing for us is playing defense and rebounding. We had a stretch in the first half and first five minutes of the second half where we didn't have that same intensity on defense. We called a timeout and I told them, 'Look, we've been here before. We need to learn from our mistakes and play the same whether you are down 12 or up 12. They did it. It started with stops and rebounds. We could start to push and get some easy baskets. Then (West Chester) went zone and we did a great job executing, getting the ball into the short corner, into the middle, making the extra pass, trusting our teammates and sharing the ball. The recipe is simple. Rebounding, defense and sharing the ball."
• On controlling the glass: "The two stats were 35 percent field goal shooting against the No. 1 offense and 46 rebounds. We held them to 10 offensive rebounds and we had 11. That was huge. We win those two stats we will win a lot of basketball games. Even though Caden didn't have it going offensively, he was huge with some shot blocks and rebounding. He was a big presence against their big guys. To get a win with him feeling it out is huge. Every day, every practice he'll feel better."
• On the increased confidence of Hendricks: "He is a big reason why we are playing better. He is starting to understand what it is to be a point guard who can score. At the start of the year we were just asking him to come off the bench and be a spot up shooter, play-make a little bit. Now he is having to run a team. In the last seven or eight games he is figuring out how to do both. Today I thought he had one of his better defensive rebounding games. His elevated play is a big reason why we are winning games right now."
 
NOTES 
• Millersville's 97 points were its most against West Chester since 1989. 
• Najdawi recorded double-digit rebounds for the sixth time in his 13 games played. 
 
UP NEXT 
• Millersville is back in Pucillo Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. against Bloomsburg. Fans will have the opportunity to donate to the heart transplant fund of former Millersville sports information director Greg Wright. Fans can also give online through his Help Hope Live campaign.