MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - James Sullivan recorded his first career double-double and five Millersville Marauders scored in double figures for an 87-73 victory over Bloomsburg Saturday in Pucillo Gymnasium. 

The Marauders, now 12-9 overall and 9-6 in PSAC play, have won four in a row and improved to 8-2 at home. Each of Millersville's last three wins have come by double digits. Justin Nwosu led the Marauders with 21 points, sinking a career-high three 3-pointers. Sullivan totaled 19 points, 11 rebounds (all on the defensive glass) and added a team-high five assists. 

Sullivan also took on the assignment of guarding one of the league's top scorers in Ky Mauras, who had scored 20 points or more in seven of the previous nine games. Sullivan, however, pestered Mauras into shooting 2-of-12 from the field. Mauras scored half of his 12 points at the line, and those 12 points were his fewest in the last 10 games. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
• After Bloomsburg shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, Millersville put the defensive clamps on the Huskies in the final 20 minutes. The Huskies made 9-of-36 shots (.250) in the second half, while Millersville's offensive production jumped. The Marauders shot a respectable 44.1 percent in the first half, but sank 18-of-32 shots (.563) and made 6-of-13 threes for 48 points in the second half. The Marauders finished at 50.0 percent shooting, marking the seventh time in nine games that they have shot 49 percent or better. 
• Millersville led by nine with 4:09 left before the half, but Bloomsburg closed the period on an 8-0 run with Millersville missing five consecutive shots and committing two turnovers. Bloomsburg also scored first out of the break to take its first lead of the game. Nwosu, however, made sure that the lead didn't last long. He hit a jumper on Millersville's next possession and then grabbed a defensive rebound, starting a fast break that ended with Mekhi Hendricks finishing at the rim. Over the next four-plus minutes, Millersville worked the lead up to 11 points thanks in part to six consecutive points from Caden Najdawi. 
• Bloomsburg had one more run in it. After a Najdawi bucket in the paint gave the Marauders a 67-51 lead with 10:16 to go, Bloomsburg's Justin Anderson made a 3-pointer, sank three foul shots on the next trip and scored on a drive. A free throw from Max Wagner capped a 9-0 run for the Huskies. Nwosu stopped the Huskies momentum, though. He scored on a pass from Khari Williams and then assisted on a Sullivan 3-pointer that proved to be the backbreaker for Bloomsburg. Bloomsburg shot just 2-of-11 over the final seven minutes, and Millersville pulled away with Sullivan scoring 13 of his points in that final stretch. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
• Millersville grabbed 40 rebounds for the second consecutive game, improving to 8-1 when it hits that mark. 
• Nwosu led the Marauders in scoring and topped 20 points for the second-straight game. He has scored at least 13 points in 10 consecutive games. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and 3-of-5 from three while also adding six rebounds and three assists. 
• Mekhi Hendricks scored 16 points for his fifth-straight game scoring in double figures. Williams added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Najdawi scored 12 points to go with seven boards. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On the what changed in the second half: "I thought it was a little bit of us. We didn't have the same urgency as we did against West Chester. We let [Bloomsburg] get a little too comfortable. We've talked about it many times. We have to deny passing lanes, run them off the 3-point line and make them try to score over Caden. I thought in the second half we held them to 25 percent. That has to be our identity. In the first half we didn't do that, but in the second half we did all those things--defend, rebound, get loose balls and share the ball."
• On Sullivan's performance: "He gets the double-double, makes plays down the stretch and protects the ball. Then Mauras, who has been hot, goes 2-for-12. That was James' assignment. To have the ability to put a guy on the other team's best player and know he will take away some of their best stuff is huge. Everyone in this league has a guard that's really good, can get it going and score 20-30 points. James can contain those players. He's a winning player, makes winning plays and we are lucky he is on our team."
• On the team's success at home: "It's hard to win on the road at every level--NBA, Division I, Division II, Division III. There's the bus ride, playing on someone else's court. But we've also had great crowds here. Even over break and it has gotten even better with the students back. We had our Alumni Day today and really appreciated all of them coming back. We fuel off that energy. We have an extra level we can get to at home and that's what we are playing for--to hopefully get home games in the playoffs."
 
NOTES 
• Millersville has won four consecutive games over Bloomsburg since winning five in a row between 2006-2008. 
• During the game, Millersville Athletics took donations for former sports information director Greg Wright, who is raising funds to offset expenses associated with a needed heart transplant. Fan donations totaled more than $1,700. Fans can also give through Wright's Help Hope Live campaign. 

UP NEXT 
• MIllersville's next two games are on the road, starting with a trip to Kutztown on Wednesday, Feb. 5.