BALTIMORE, Md. - It may have been an exhibition game for the Millersville Marauders, but they very nearly knocked off Division I Morgan State Monday evening, falling 77-71 despite hitting 13 3-pointers.
Millersville had the ball trailing 72-71 with under 40 seconds to play. Morgan State's Trevor Moore intercepted a pass intended for
Caden Najdawi in the post, and he was fouled on his way up the court. Moore made both free throws for a three-point lead. Millersville had one last chance to tie it, and
James Sullivan, who led the Marauders with 20 points in the game, took a three from the right wing, but it hit front iron. Forced to foul to stop the clock, Millersville sent Morgan State to the line two more times in the final 10 seconds, where the home team extended its lead.
The loss does not count against Millersville's record, but the game did count for the Bears, who improved to 4-5. Millersville played the majority of the game without starting point guard
Jaden Faulkner as he logged just seven minutes.
Millersville out-shot the Bears, hitting 49.1% of its shots from the field and 48% from three while Morgan State 44.6% from the field and 33.3% from three. Millersville also held a 35-27 edge on the glass. The real difference came at the free throw line and in turnovers. Morgan State made 21-of-26 free throws while Millersville attempted just six all game. The Marauders also committed 24 turnovers, which turned into 30 Morgan State points.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville's barrage of 3-pointers kept it in the game, and after trailing 38-37 at the half, Millersville canned four-straight shots, including three threes for a 12-0 run starting with a
Ryan Davis three with 13:41 to play. That 12-0 run put Millersville up 61-52 with just under 12 minutes left. But as quick as the lead was built up, it disappeared. Out of the media timeout, Millersville went scoreless for nearly six full minutes, shooting 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-5 in that stretch. Morgan State, meanwhile, posted a 14-2 run for a 66-61 lead with 7:51 to play.
• Millersville did manage to retie the game on a
Justin Nwosu three with 4:34 left, and took the lead at 67-66 on a Sullivan free throw 41 seconds later. But Morgan State's Lagio Grantsaan answered with two foul shots, and the Bears outscored the Marauders 11-4 while also forcing three turnovers in the final 2:51.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On positives and negatives from the game: "We shot the ball well and showed the ball movement we were looking for. With their pressure and Jaden out, it challenged guys to be more creative. Mekhi (Hendricks) and James took on the role of being more creative and facilitators. That experience against their press will help us. We could have done better versus the pressure. We had the one stretch to get up nine and then took some quick shots and had some turnovers. That's the next step--getting more comfortable with our reads off the bounce. At times wee really showed that and made some extra passes and shot well coming off the worst shooting game of any team of mine at Millersville. I thought our defense was pretty good. Overall, the game was a good experience, playing a guy down and having a chance to win the game at the end."
• On what the team has learned in the last two games: "The biggest thing for us is that we've learned a lot about ourselves. We've put a lot of pressure on ourselves this season, and tonight we played a lot freer. Tonight, we just played. Yes, we made some mistakes, but it wasn't because of the pressure we put on ourselves. Saturday, we didn't have the eye of the tiger and needed some humble pie. But the culture and focus was great today. Any coach will tell you that the season really begins with a loss, and when you see your guys respond to a loss is when you have a good group. The attitude was great and the energy was high tonight."
UP NEXT
• Millersville is off for the remainder of finals week and returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at Indiana (Pa.), which was ranked No. 7 in the most recent NABC Top 25 poll.
