ERIE, Pa. – Little has gone the Marauders' way of late, but on Wednesday in Erie, trailing Gannon by 12 points with four minutes remaining, the Marauders forced their fortunes to change. After shooting under 30% from the field for more nearly 36 minutes, Millersville drilled 4-of-5 3-pointers down the stretch, and got a bucket from junior
Matt Dade with two seconds remaining to break the tie and win, 66-64.
Millersville (8-8, 5-5 PSAC) had lost five of its previous six and was staring at a four-game losing streak before the final flurry in which it outscored Gannon 20-6 in the last four minutes.
Justin Nwosu sank two threes,
Dylin Borden hit one, and
Day Waters cut the Marauders' deficit from five to two with 1:13 remaining. Millersville made six of its final eight shots and 4-of-6 free throws in that stretch, including two from senior
Mekhi Hendricks that tied the game at 64-64 with one minute to play. For a team learning to finish, the comeback was just what it needed.
"The last four minutes, we just started playing," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "We made shots. Dylin gave a great spark. Day gave a great spark. Dade made a big time play. We caused some turnovers. I'm a little taken aback by it. I was worried, but we made plays down the stretch and made it happen. It's a great game to learn from. We can learn from the first 36 minutes and also and feel what it's like to win again."
While the Marauders started hitting shots, its defense was just as crucial to the turnaround. Millersville switched to a trapping press, which created panic in the Gannon backcourt. The Golden Knights turned the ball over four times and made just one field goal against Millersville's press. Borden stole the ball twice during the Millersville run, and both steals led directly to points. First it was a Nwosu three that cut Gannon's lead to single digits, and the second steal turned into Hendricks' game-tying free throws.
Dade, who led the Marauders with 17 points, battled in the post for 35 minutes without a field goal. While he was 0-of-3 from the field, he was 15-of-20 at the line, and Coach
Casey Stitzel drew up the final possession for him. The Marauders forced a Gannon miss with just over 30 seconds remaining, and took over with one second difference between the shot clock and game clock. Borden let the clock tick down before initiating the play. Dade received a bounce pass from Borden at the top of the key and drove to his left. Cut off by Gannon's Demetrius Mims, he dipped to his right and finished through contact with 2.4 seconds remaining.
"We ran an iso for him," said Stitzel. "They put a guard on him who was very athletic. We were trying to get Matt in space but with that defender, maybe we should have posted him up. He made a really nice move when the defender took away his left hand. That's a move we were working on so it was great to see him put it to use."
Gannon called timeout to set up its final possession, and Millersville forced an inbounds pass deep in the Gannon backcourt. Waters pressured Mims toward the right sideline, and the best Mims could get was a running and contested 35-foot heave at the buzzer.
"We played great, sneaky defense in the last 2.4 seconds," said Stitzel. "We did a great job forcing them into a tough spot on the run. We played the last 35 seconds without timeouts and played it very smart. It's something to build off of for the future.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Five Marauders scored in double figures despite the team shooting 36.4% from the field. Along with Dade's 17, Nwosu finished with 12, Waters scored a career-high 12, and
Keith Mency and Hendricks added 11 apiece.
• Dade's 15 free throws made were six more than his previous career high, and the most by a Marauder since Anthony Coleman's 19 in 2013. Dade also added a season-high four assists, as did
J.D. Gross.
• Millersville overcame a tough shooting night by making 11-of-27 3-pointers--its most 3-pointer makes and attempts since Nov. 16.
MORE FROM COACH CASEY STITZEL
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On Gannon as an opponent: "They are way better than their record. They had a lot of injuries and a tough schedule. You knew they were hungry and due for one. It was a dangerous game with this travel. It was a great opportunity for us to go on the road and come away with a win."
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On contributions from Borden and Waters off the bench: "It's huge. We are looking to solidify that bench. I've been too inconsistent with our minutes. We've had some guys who have been up and down. (Borden and Waters) were solid and then made some big plays down the stretch. We tell the young guys all the time that you have to be rock solid before you become good. A lot of times you just have to be solid to win games in this league."
UP NEXT
• Millersville faces another tough road test on Saturday with a trip to Lock Haven. Tip is set for 3 p.m.
