MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - A slow start put Millersville in a hole it couldn't dig out of against PSAC East-leading Shippensburg Wednesday night. For the second-straight game, Millersville mustered just 25 first-half points and it resulted in an 87-66 loss--the Marauders' third in a row.
Millersville (12-12, 9-9 PSAC) gave up 50 points in a half for just the second time this season and that was combined with 9-of-26 shooting from the field, one 3-pointer and eight turnovers on the offensive end. Shippensburg also out-rebounded Millersville 25-14 with eight offensive boards and 10 second-chance points in the first half. While Millersville out-scored Shippensburg 41-37 in the second half, the damage was done in the first 20 minutes.
Khari Williams led Millersville with a career-high 27 points, 22 of which came in the second half.
Shippensburg (20-4, 18-2 PSAC) moved within a game of clinching the PSAC East with four games remaining in the regular season. Millersville remained tied for third in the East following West Chester's loss at Shepherd.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Millersville made shot 2-for-10 and managed just four points in the first seven minutes.
Caden Najdawi scored on back-to-back possessions, and Millersville trailed by just seven with a little more than 12 minutes left. But over the next 8:21, Shippensburg shot 11-of-18 and made four threes while Millersville shot 3-of-9 without a 3-pointer attempt. The 27-10 run put Millersville down 42-18. Ship's Lamar Talley hit his only bucket of the first half--a 3-pointer--with five seconds left, getting the Raiders to the half-century mark.
• Jake Bliss (16) and Dom Sleva (12) combined to out-score Millersville in the first half. Najdawi scored 10 in the first half and 13 in the second for 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He was the lone Marauder to make more than one field goal in the first half.
• Millersville trailed by as many as 26 before Williams scored nine-consecutive points in one stretch to cut the deficit to 16 with just under 10 minutes to play. Millersville could get no closer.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Najdawi completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. Williams shot 7-of-12 from the field and made a 12-of-13 free throws--also a career high. He also led the team with five assists and three steals.
• Millersville shot 19-of-25 from the line, but shot a season-low 1-of-10 from three.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH CASEY STITZEL
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Postgame thoughts: "More than anything, it is Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. We are either really good or really bad. And not only from game-to-game but stretch-to-stretch. In games where we've lost leads, we've played well and needed to only play average the last 10 to 15 minutes to win and played awful. I'll be honest. I don't have the answer. If I did we'd be in a better shape. I don't understand the inconsistency but we have to figure it out."
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On starting the game slowly: "That's what I'm upset about the most. We aren't doing the little things. What got us seven out of nine was loose balls, sharing the ball and rebounding. We were 0-for-3 on that tonight. We said we had to make Shippensburg uncomfortable. We did that only in the last 10 minutes and at that point it was too late. Right now we aren't playing good basketball. We have to find a way to get out of it...The guys that played the last 10 minutes, they flew around and rushed Shippensburg a little bit. But why did it take us a half to play like that? It's the 22nd-ranked team at home, with a crowd. And we start the game like that."
NOTES
• Shippensburg has won five consecutive games in the series and remained unbeaten this season when scoring at least 74 points.
• Millersville's 66 points were its second-fewest in a home game this season. After scoring at least 80 points in six of seven games, Millersville has failed to crack 70 in three straight.
UP NEXT
• Millersville hosts Mansfield on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.
