MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Marauders established Caden Najdawi in the post early and the junior forward delivered a career night as the Marauders rolled to a 75-54 victory over Kutztown Wednesday night in Pucillo Gymnasium. Najdawi scored a career-high 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted a season-high four shots. 

Millersville, fresh off a PSAC East win over East Stroudsburg on Monday, won back-to-back games for the first time since November and scored its largest margin of victory since Nov. 18. The win pulled Millersville back to even at 7-7 overall and 4-4 in league play, while Kutztown, which was ahead of Millersville in the standings entering the night, slips back to 6-8 overall and 4-4 in the PSAC. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Millersville put the defensive clamps on Kutztown--the PSAC's second-ranked scoring offense which entered the game averaging over 83 points per game. The 54 points were Kutztown's lowest point total of the season by nine points and was also the fewest points allowed by the Marauders this season. Millersville improved to 4-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points. 
• Najdawi set the tone in the opening minute, scoring buckets off post-ups on each of the Marauders' first two offensive possessions. He poured in 18 points and blocked three shots in the first 20 minutes, helping Millersville to a 41-36 advantage at the break. 
• The second half was all Millersville. Najdawi scored six of Millersville's first nine points of the period, including an alley-oop slam off a Mekhi Hendricks pass that put the Marauders up by 12--its largest lead of the game at the time. The lead held in double figures in the rest of the game with Millersville pestering Kutztown into shooting 7-of-30 (.233) from the field and 2-of-11 (.182) from three in the second half. Kutztown shot a season low 29.7 percent for the game. Millersville, meanwhile, knocked down 29-of-56 (.518) and dominated the interior, out-scoring Kutztown 48-24 in the paint. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• In addition to Najdawi's fifth double-double of the season, the Marauders received 13 points, nine rebounds, a career-high seven assists, two blocks and two steals from Khari Williams. Justin Nwosu scored 14 for his third consecutive double-digit scoring effort since returning to the lineup.  
• Kutztown's Wesley Butler came into the game ranked in the PSAC's top 10 in scoring average but the Marauders held him to 11 points--more than seven points under his average. A 49.2 percent shooter on the season, Butler was limited to 5-of-16 shooting with James Sullivan drawing the primary defensive assignment. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH STITZEL
• On Najdawi's performance: "We've been doing a way better job with post passing and we have to play through him more. Lately we've been emphasizing it and the guards have been doing a better job looking for him and finding him. He's doing a way better job sealing. He's aggressive, he's added some moves on the run. He's using his speed and athletic ability. That's the game we expect and if we are going to make noise in the conference, he needs to be able to dominate on both ends. He also made a difference on defense. He changed every shot in the second half. When he plays like that we are tough to beat. I think he is only going to get better. His work ethic is great, his attitude is great and he's taking on a leadership role as a junior."
• On the team's defensive effort: "In the first half we played a little passive and let Kutztown dictate the tempo. In the second half we denied passing lanes, ran guys off the 3-point line and trusted Caden to rotate over. We did a better job getting the 50-50 balls, which allowed us to get into transition. The game changed when we got up-and-down. The defense really helped our offense tonight. Every aspect of the game we were good at tonight. It was a complete team effort."
• On carrying the momentum into road games: "That's the next step. In the locker room, as I gave the team compliment, compliment, compliment, it was, 'alright, now it's time to play this way on the road.' It's defense, rebounding, playing scrappy, harder than the other team. If we can do that stuff our offense is going to be fine. We are not going to make the playoffs or host a home game if we can't win on the road. The next step is to do the things we do at home on the road."

NOTES
• Millersville has won the last three regular season games against Kutztown after losing eight consecutive from 2014-2018. 
• Millersville is now 6-1 at home but four of the next five games are on the road. 
• Najdawi has scored 20 or more three times this season. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville travels to Bloomsburg Saturday with tip set for 1 p.m.