MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - With a PSAC Tournament home game on the line, a fast start was just what the Millersville men's basketball team needed Saturday against Lock Haven. The Marauders sprinted to a 28-point halftime lead and held off a hard-charging Bald Eagles club in the second half for a 94-76 win in the regular season finale. Millersville will now host Shepherd Monday at 7 p.m., in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament. 

Saturday started with four teams vying for three playoff spots and all four teams within one game of the fourth-seeded Marauders. For Millersville, the recipe was simple: win. And after averaging 26.0 points in the first half of four of the last five games, Millersville torched Lock Haven with 53 points in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 20-of-34 (.588) shots from the field and 9-of-15 shots from 3-point range. Millersville finished the game with a 57.4 shooting percentage--its highest in 15 games. The Marauders made 11-of-21 threes and 21-of-27 free throws. Khari Williams led all scorers with 25 points, making 11-of-11 free throws. Caden Najdawi totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds and matched a season-high with four blocks.

The Marauders head into the PSAC Tournament with a 14-14 overall record, finishing league play at 11-11. Lock Haven (12-14, 8-13) drops to the No. 6 seed and travels to West Chester on Monday.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 
• Millersville steadily built its double-digit lead then punched the gas over the final seven minutes of the first half. Mekhi Hendricks, who shot 4-of-5 from three in the game, sank a triple with 6:40 left to put the Marauders up 33-17. He then slashed into the paint for a fast break layup. Khari Williams sank one of his two 3-pointers in the game, and Ryan Davis followed with one of his own. That 11-0 run put the Marauders up by 24, and they weren't finished. They scored on 12 consecutive offensive possessions with Williams and Hendricks sinking one more 3-pointer apiece before the half ended with Millersville leading 53-25. 
• Lock Haven had a run left, though. Utilizing a trapping, full-court press, it forced 10 Millersville turnovers in the first 14 minutes of the second half and its shots started falling. The Bald Eagles scored 42 points in that 13-minute stretch, sinking 14-of-26 shots and 12-of-13 free throws. A 3-pointer from Eli Washington at the six-minute mark knocked Millersville's lead down to just seven points at 74-67. But at the other end of the floor, Williams drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and sank all three free throws. Lock Haven came up empty on its next two offensive possessions while Williams sank two more free throws and Hendricks splashed a 3-pointer. Najdawi followed another stop with a bucket of his own, and the 10-0 Millersville run put Millersville back up 17 with just over five minutes to play. The Marauders led by no fewer than 11 the rest of the way. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Williams produced his eighth 20-point game of the season and has now led the team in scoring nine times. He led four Marauders in double figures. Hendricks scored 19, sinking 6-of-10 shots from the field, 4-of-5 from three and 3-of-4 from the line. James Sullivan totaled 14 points and led the team with seven assists. Sullivan and Brandon Craig led the team with two steals apiece. 
• Five Bald Eagles finished in double-figure scoring with Kelly's 17 leading the way. Millersville limited Lock Haven to 37.5 percent shooting in the first half and 42.6 percent shooting in the game. Millersville also held Lock Haven to 4-of-16 shooting from three. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On the importance of getting off to a good start: "I thought we had the eye-of-the-tiger look. In the second half, that defensive intensity wasn't there. In the first half it was. When we guard and get stops we get in transition and our flow is so much better. Even when we don't score, the flow and continuity is so much better. But when we are always taking the ball out of bounds it hurts our flow. We need teams to be retreating. The first half was a clinic. We guarded, rebounded, had 11 assists. In the second half we got away from it. The pressure hurt us a little bit. I was proud of the group for hanging on. Mekhi was huge, hitting some big shots. We made foul shots during that stretch. We got enough stops and rebounds. We've given up some leads this year so it was really nice to keep this one and get a home playoff game. 
• On the importance of winning with an opportunity to clinch a home game: "We've been through a lot with injuries and buzzer-beater losses. For us to come out of it all with an opportunity to play at home again and make up for the loss we had last year at home is huge. It's a credit to these guys. They've dealt with more adversity than maybe any other team in the league. For us to come out of a 28-game season in a top-level league with a home game is a credit to their determination."
• On Monday's home playoff game vs. Shepherd: "We haven't had Caden against Shepherd twice. Regardless of the opponent, we look forward to getting back to the recipe of sharing the ball, rebounding and defending and hopefully there will be a really good crowd to give us a boost. We are excited about it."

NOTES
• Williams' career point total is up to 978, putting him 22 shy of the 1,000-point milestone. 
• Najdawi's double-double was his seventh in 21 games. 
• Millersville swept the season series with Lock Haven and has won six of the last seven in the series. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville hosts Shepherd in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday at 7 p.m. It marks Millersville's second-consecutive tournament appearance, although last season the Marauders lost at home to Kutztown in the opening round. Shepherd went 2-0 against Millersville in 2019-20, winning on a last-second 3-pointer at Pucillo Gymnasium on Jan. 18 and then winning 84-83 at home on Feb. 19.