MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville's winning streak extended to 11, but it took a pair of defensive stands to preserve a nail-biting 74-72 win over an upstart Kutztown club Wednesday night in Pucillo Gymnasium. 

Jaden Faulkner scored nine of his team-leading 15 points in the game's final 12 minutes and also led the Marauders with five assists. Khari Williams also scored nine of his 14 in the second half, including a pair of crucial free throws with 20 seconds remaining that momentarily gave Millersville a two-possession advantage.

Millersville (20-4, 14-4 PSAC) earned win No. 20 for the first time since 2007-08 and had to dig deep late to do it.

The Marauders trailed by six with just over 10 minutes to play, rallied back into the lead, but with a couple of late missed free throws and a pair of turnovers in the final minute, they just couldn't shake Kutztown. The Golden Bears, trailing 74-72 after a quick Michael Smith III lay-up, drew an offensive foul on Khari Williams with 13 seconds to go. The inbounds, from under Kutztown's basket, went to Evan-Eric Longino, who backed into the lane against Justin Nwosu. Nwosu played his defensive assignment to perfection and altered Longino's hook shot enough that it rimmed out. Nwosu grabbed the rebound and was fouled with six seconds remaining. He missed the front end of the one-and-one, and out of timeouts, Kutztown was forced to push the ball quickly. Dribbling up the left sideline, Longino, pressured by Williams, lost the ball out of bounds as he neared the 3-point line.

Millersville shot 54.9% from the field, but Kutztown stayed close by sinking 47.3% of its shots. And against the nation's top 3-point shooting defense, Kutztown made 5-of-11 3-pointers--the best percentage by a Millersville opponent all season. Kutztown also produced the best shooting percentage against Millersville in the last 13 games--a stretch that dates back to Jan. 5. Smith III led all scorers with 22 points. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
• Through the first 10 minutes of action, it looked as if Millersville would cruise to its 20th win. The Marauders scored the game's first eight points and built a 25-10 lead. But six Millersville turnovers in the final 10 minutes of the first half helped Kutztown creep within 37-31 at the break. Kutztown tied the game for the first time at 41-41 on Smith III's layup with 14 minutes to play. The Golden Bears' first lead came less that a minute later when Longino drilled one of his two threes. Wesley Butler put Kutztown up 53-47 with 10:52 to go, but that's when Millersville started its rally. James Sullivan hit for two, and Williams drove for another bucket. Williams sank a jumper on the next Millersville possession for a 6-0 run. Kutztown moved back in front on a pair of Robert Tucker free throws, but Millersville stormed back on top with a 7-3 run that included points from four different players. From there, the game stood tied four times and the lead changed hands four times until the Marauders took the lead for good on Justin Nwosu's layup with 2:56 to play. 
• Millersville went to Faulkner often in the closing minutes. He and Williams combined for 18 of Millersville's 29 points scored in the last 12 minutes. In the final five minutes, Faulkner either scored or assisted on nine of Millersville's 11 points. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
• On the team's performance: "Right now, one of the hardest things when you are on an 11-game win streak is to stay level headed and understand that any team can beat you on any given night. We lacked that somewhat tonight and didn't have the pep to our step defensively. The good news is that we can learn a lesson and still win a game, and that's huge. Our culture and leadership are reasons why we are winning these close games and not losing them. Credit to Kutztown. They executed on offense and were active on defense, but obviously we didn't have our A game."
• On the challenge of continuing a winning streak: "We've got older guys, we've got talent, we've got good kids. It's just staying in the moment, not listening to the outside noise. When we were rebuilding we were always trying to upset someone. Now, everyone is bringing their best game to you. You are the game that everyone circles. There are responsibilities that come from that. We will learn from it and get better from it."
• On Faulkner making plays late in the game: "It was one of those games where we were trying to find the hot hand. We got him on the single-side ball screen, ran James off a stagger to occupy the help defense. Jaden got the rim, made some really nice passes, and he's crafty around the rim. We milked that play down the stretch. He's starting to really play well, and he's a big reason why we won a game we probably should have lost."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Nwosu recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Half of Nwosu's points came on the offensive glass, which contributed to Millersville's 16 second-chance points. Caden Najdawi added 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks. 
• Williams shot 5-of-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from three and 2-for-2 from the line. 

NOTES
• Najdawi has scored in double-figures in eight consecutive games. 
• Millersville is now 5-0 in games decided by five points or fewer. 

NEXT
• Millersville travels to Mansfield on Saturday, Feb. 12 for a 3 p.m. tip.