MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Mekhi Hendricks bided his time on the Millersville bench. The Marauders fell behind visiting West Chester 14-1 out of the gate, missing their first seven shots and five of the first six free throws. Enter Hendricks. The junior got the Marauders rolling with a 3-pointer to break the drought, and Millersville went on to outscore West Chester by 29 over the final 34 minutes, winning 70-54 to advance to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since 2008. 

Hendricks sparked the Marauders with 15 points, three steals, and a blocked shot, posting a plus-minus of 25 in just 26 minutes of action. Justin Nwosu played a key role in the paint as well, recording his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds while helping Millersville out-rebound the PSAC's top rebounding team, 46-42. It was only the fourth time in 29 games that a team out-rebounded West Chester. 

"Mekhi came in and got the bucket to get us going, and hit a big dagger at the end," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "Our bench has stepped up and been playing well. It's a great team win. It's tough to beat a team three times in a row. For us to make that run at the end was very impressive."

Millersville last swept West Chester in the 1994-95 season, and did it in 2022 with defense, holding the Golden Rams to under 30% 3-point shooting in all three games. After the slow start Wednesday, Millersville absolutely stymied a West Chester offense that came in leading the league in scoring at 85 points per game. The Marauders held West Chester to a season-low 30.2% shooting and 3-of-21 shooting from three. 

"We never get too high or too low," said Stitzel. "A wise man once told me to beware of the early lead. That's what I told the team at the first media timeout. West Chester came out as the aggressor. But then our defense took over. To hold the PSAC's top offense to 54 and to out-rebound them, it's huge."

The Marauders more than held their own against a physical West Chester team that totaled 28 fouls and had three players foul out. Winning with rebounding, blocked shots, and grabbing loose balls is a lesson the Marauders learned from postseasons past. 

"Before the game, I started with our senior class, and went through our playoff history over the last five years," said Stitzel. "Those losses are what prepare you for tonight. Kutztown out-physicalled us three years ago. Shippensburg got us on the glass two years ago. You see that growth in the rebuild. You see how they figure out and become winning basketball players. This group deserves a lot."

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
• While Hendricks' 3-pointer with just under 15 minutes left in the first half got the Marauders on the board, they still trailed by eight with 9:28 to go in the half. After a Jaden Faulkner lay-up, Hendricks hit another trey. Caden Najdawi made one free throw, and with 5:41 to go in the half, Nwosu gave Millersville its first lead of the game with a three of his own. West Chester, however, answered with a 7-0 run of its own and held a 29-27 advantage at the half. 
• The second half belonged to the Marauders, though, as they stormed out of the locker room with a 16-3 run. In a span of six minutes, they went from down two to up 11. West Chester shot 1-for-9 in that stretch. West Chester stayed within 10 points until the game's final five minutes when Khari Williams, who had struggled with his shot all game, nailed his only 3-pointer. That put Millersville up 14. Then, with fewer than two minutes to play, James Sullivan finished through contact on a fastbreak, and Hendricks hit the backbreaker that put Millersville in front by 18 points. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Faulkner scored 14 points and handed out a game-high seven assists. Khari Williams finished with 12 points, scoring seven of them at the free throw line. 

NOTES
• Millersville and West Chester have played 206 times, but Wednesday was just the fourth playoff match. The teams are 2-2 in the postseason. 
• Millersville has won four of the last five games against West Chester. 
• The Marauders are now 18-0 when winning the rebounding battle and 16-0 when grabbing 40 or more rebounds. 

NEXT
• Millersville now travels to Indiana, Pa., the host site of the final two rounds of the PSAC Tournament. Millersville draws the PSAC West's No. 2 seed, Mercyhurst, which defeated Pitt-Johnstown in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Game time is set for 1 p.m. On the other side of the bracket are IUP and Shippensburg.