Friday, November 11
Petersburg, VA
8:00 PM
Millersville University
0-1,0-0PSAC
63
at
72
Virginia State
1-0,0-0CIAA
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Millersville
32
31
63
Virginia St.
29
43
72
Photo by: Mark Palczewski
Virginia State uses second half surge to top Marauders in season opener
11/11/2022 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PETERSBURG, Va. - Virginia State out-scored Millersville 24-10 in the first eight minutes of the second half, erasing a three-point halftime deficit and earning a 72-63 win over the visiting Millersville Marauders in Friday's season opener.
Millersville (0-1) struggled at the offensive end throughout the game, shooting just 34.6% from the field and 4-of-26 (.154) from three. The Marauders managed to hold Virginia State in check for the game's first 20 minutes, but the Trojans drilled 18-of-29 shots and scored 43 points in the second half. Terrence Hunter-Whitfield led all scorers with 19 points.
Matt Dade scored 17 points in his Millersville debut while Mekhi Hendricks added 10 points and three steals and Ryan Davis scored 10 points, making 2-of-4 3-pointers. Justin Nwosu scored all eight of his points in the second half, and his 3-pointer mid-way through the half netted him his 1,000th career point. He is the 40th Marauder all-time to reach that milestone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Hunter-Whitfield drilled a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half and that was an omen for the Trojans following the halftime break. It took Virginia State just 52 seconds to grab the lead, and it never again trailed, sinking 10 of its first 15 shots and all four free throws, building an 11-point lead before the 10-minute mark. Stephan Morris accounted for eight of the Trojans' points in that stretch. At the other end, Millersville turned the ball over eight times and made just 3-of-10 shots.
• After falling behind 53-42 on a Morris hook shot with 11:21 left, the Marauders never got closer than nine points.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On learning from the second half: "This is why you play games like today. This isn't last year's team with five seniors. We have young guys who are learning what it takes to win at this level. For 20 minutes we had the good version of what we've had in scrimmages. Common to young teams, we had those stretches where we get out of what we've been taught and what we've been doing well. The biggest thing is consistency. I said to them after the game that 'you didn't win on the scoreboard but you win for the season by learning from this.'
• On the second half defense: "We didn't come out with the same intensity. We had a lull. The post players did a great job in the first half of being active, but in the second half we stood behind the post. The ball pressure wasn't there. That allowed Virginia State to get comfortable. We have practices like that where we are great for an hour and then lose energy for 30 minutes. This group is learning to sustain that energy for 40 minutes."
• On what the young players can learn from a tough offensive game: "The turnovers really hurt us, especially the touchdown ones. You have to really focus on the defensive end. If you aren't making shots and you focus on defense, maybe you get some steals, get some layups and maybe a couple threes go in. When you take that energy away, you can't make up for it. You can't hide when you are shooting like that."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Virginia State scored 44 of its 72 points in the paint and attempted just nine 3-pointers.
• Virginia State out-rebounded Millersville, 31-23.
• Virginia State committed 26 turnovers, and Millersville scored 18 first-half points off those turnovers in the first half, but managed just five points of turnovers in the second half.
UP NEXT
• Millersville plays No. 23 Virginia Union Saturday in Petersburg. Tip is set for 5 p.m.
Millersville (0-1) struggled at the offensive end throughout the game, shooting just 34.6% from the field and 4-of-26 (.154) from three. The Marauders managed to hold Virginia State in check for the game's first 20 minutes, but the Trojans drilled 18-of-29 shots and scored 43 points in the second half. Terrence Hunter-Whitfield led all scorers with 19 points.
Matt Dade scored 17 points in his Millersville debut while Mekhi Hendricks added 10 points and three steals and Ryan Davis scored 10 points, making 2-of-4 3-pointers. Justin Nwosu scored all eight of his points in the second half, and his 3-pointer mid-way through the half netted him his 1,000th career point. He is the 40th Marauder all-time to reach that milestone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Hunter-Whitfield drilled a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half and that was an omen for the Trojans following the halftime break. It took Virginia State just 52 seconds to grab the lead, and it never again trailed, sinking 10 of its first 15 shots and all four free throws, building an 11-point lead before the 10-minute mark. Stephan Morris accounted for eight of the Trojans' points in that stretch. At the other end, Millersville turned the ball over eight times and made just 3-of-10 shots.
• After falling behind 53-42 on a Morris hook shot with 11:21 left, the Marauders never got closer than nine points.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On learning from the second half: "This is why you play games like today. This isn't last year's team with five seniors. We have young guys who are learning what it takes to win at this level. For 20 minutes we had the good version of what we've had in scrimmages. Common to young teams, we had those stretches where we get out of what we've been taught and what we've been doing well. The biggest thing is consistency. I said to them after the game that 'you didn't win on the scoreboard but you win for the season by learning from this.'
• On the second half defense: "We didn't come out with the same intensity. We had a lull. The post players did a great job in the first half of being active, but in the second half we stood behind the post. The ball pressure wasn't there. That allowed Virginia State to get comfortable. We have practices like that where we are great for an hour and then lose energy for 30 minutes. This group is learning to sustain that energy for 40 minutes."
• On what the young players can learn from a tough offensive game: "The turnovers really hurt us, especially the touchdown ones. You have to really focus on the defensive end. If you aren't making shots and you focus on defense, maybe you get some steals, get some layups and maybe a couple threes go in. When you take that energy away, you can't make up for it. You can't hide when you are shooting like that."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Virginia State scored 44 of its 72 points in the paint and attempted just nine 3-pointers.
• Virginia State out-rebounded Millersville, 31-23.
• Virginia State committed 26 turnovers, and Millersville scored 18 first-half points off those turnovers in the first half, but managed just five points of turnovers in the second half.
UP NEXT
• Millersville plays No. 23 Virginia Union Saturday in Petersburg. Tip is set for 5 p.m.
Team Stats
MU
VS
FG%
.346
.538
3FG%
.154
.333
FT%
.719
.722
RB
23
31
TO
20
26
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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