ABOUT THE GAMES

• The first round of the NCAA Tournament features a rematch of the PSAC Semifinals. Millersville and Mercyhurst met less than a week ago on the same floor, and it was a defensive struggle in which Millersville shot 38.9% from the field and Mercyhurst shot 27.4%. The Marauders received an at-large bid as the No. 5 seed, and Mercyhurst is the No. 4 seed. The Marauders are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 and it is their 12th appearance since 1985. Millersville is 14-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has gone 8-4 in first round games. Millersville has reached the regional championship (round of 16) in three of its last four tournament appearances. Mercyhurst is making its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its fourth since 2015. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville could add a fourth 1,000-point scorer to its lineup as Justin Nwosu enters the game with 994. Khari Williams, James Sullivan and Caden Najdawi have already reached that milestone and rank among the top 30 scorers in program history. While Millersville has played lineups throughout its long history that included current and eventual 1,000-point scorers, it has never had four current 1,000 points on the floor at the same time. 
• After shooting over 50% from the field in five of the final six games of the regular season, Millersville shot just 35.6% as a team in its three postseason games--two of which were wins. Millersville has been saved by its defense. In its two wins, Millersville held teams to 31.3% shooting. Millersville has played in the Kovalchik Center three times this season and has shot 34.6% and averaged 56.3 points per game--scoring fewer than 60 in all three. 
• Millersville’s defense has been oustanding all season, but it has ticked up a notch in the postseason. In the three PSAC Tournament games, the Marauders allowed just 56.7 points per game, limited opponents to 31.5% shooting from the field and 22.9% from three. Millersville ranks fifth in Division II in 3-point defense and 13th in field goal percentage defense. 
• Rebounding is key to Millersville’s success. The Marauders rank second nationally in defensive rebounds per game and seventh in total rebounds. They are 18-0 when out-rebounding opponents. 
• The Marauders also need a faster start. They scored 27 first-half points against Mercyhurst in the PSAC semis and 18 against IUP in the title game. Millersville is 22-0 this season when leading at the half. 
• James Sullivan scored 30 points with a career-high 12 field goals and six threes in the first match-up against Mercyhurst. He’s made 17-of-32 shots and 9-of-14 threes in his last two games. Sullivan has been great in his career against Mercyhurst. He’s scored 61 points in his three games against the Lakers, including 50 in the last two.
   

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• Millersville held Mercyhurst to its second-fewest points and lowest 3-point percentage of the season in the PSAC Semifinals match-up. The only two teams to hold Mercyhurst under 68 points all season were IUP (twice) and Millersville--the two teams that played for the PSAC Championship. It will be tough for the Marauders to replicate that defensive performance as Mercyhurst had shot under 40% from the field just three time all season and scored 80 or more points 17 times. MiyKah McIntosh averages 16.4 points per game, scoring in double figures in all but four games. He did not make a field goal in two games this season--once against Millersville and once against IUP. Four Lakers have made at least 40 3-pointers, and all four of those players shoot no lower than 34.6%. 
   

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: IUP 63, Millersville 52 (March 6, 2022) -  The match-up featured the top two defensive and rebounding clubs in the conference, and that was where the game was decided. IUP swarmed the Marauders for 40 minutes, holding them to 30% shooting and forcing 16 turnovers. After Millersville scored the game's first basket, IUP's suffocating half-court defense held the Marauders without a field goal for the next nine minutes. 
  Millersville was stingy at the defensive end as well, holding IUP to 36.9% shooting and its third-fewest points of the season, but the Marauders just couldn't muster enough on offense. Jaden Faulkner finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and James Sullivan scored 16, sinking 3-of-5 threes. No other Marauders scored more than seven. 
• Mercyhurst: Millersville 59, Mercyhurst 53 (March 6, 2022) - Mercyhurst led Millersville by nine with just under eight minutes remaining, but Millersville rallied, and the Marauders pulled away with a late 8-0 run. The Lakers had three players in the double-digits, including Gross (16 points), Jeff Planutis (15) and Bradley (10). Nicholas Lang led Mercyhurst with eight rebounds and tied Steve Cannady with four assists.
   

SERIES HISTORY VS. MERCYHURST

• Millersville and Mercyhurst played just once before the Lakers joined the PSAC in 2008-09. Millersville won the last three meetings at home, and Mercyhurst has won all of the meetings in Erie. The only other neutral site match-up came a week ago with Millersville’s six-point win. Eight of the all-time meetings have been decided by single digits.
• The Last Meeting vs. Mercyhurst - Millersville 59, Mercyhurst 53 (March 6, 2022): James Sullivan scored 30 points, hitting 6-of-9 threes to advance Millersville to the PSAC title game. Jaden Faulkner added 10 assists. The Millersville defense held Mercyhurst to 5-of-27 shooting from three. Millersville trailed 47-38 with fewer than eight minutes remaining, but two Sullivan threes led an 11-2 run that tied the game with 4:19 to go. Millersville outscored Mercyhurst 21-7 in the final 7:40 of the game. Mercyhurst’s leading scorer MiyKah McIntosh went 0-for-11 from the field and all four of his points came at the free throw line.