9MANSFIELD, Pa. – Mansfield simply had no answer for Millersville sophomore Drew Stover. With dunks off dishes from his teammates, pick-and-pop 3-pointers, and hook shots operating on the low block, Stover scored a career-high 24 points, leading Millersville to a 79-56 win at Mansfield. 

Stover made 11-of-13 shots from the field, making his first 10 field goal attempts before his first miss. Millersville also received a career-high 13 points from J.D. Gross and a career-high 13 points from freshman Day Waters.

The win stretched Millersville's winning streak to five and its record to 12-8 (9-5 PSAC). The margin of victory stands as Millersville's largest since Nov. 16. 

"We talked about starting well today," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "After playing two tough games against Shippensburg and West Chester, both rivalry games, this may have been our biggest challenge of the week--an overnight trip, the third game in the week with Mansfield playing well at home. We didn't want to have a letdown."

The contributions from Stover, Gross and Waters were significant as the Marauders started the game shorthanded without usual rotation players Keith Mency and Dylin Borden, and after scoring five points in the game's first six minutes, Matt Dade left the game with an injury.

"We had a couple of guys out but Gross and Day stepped up and Drew was great," said Stitzel. "Mekhi (Hendricks), Justin (Nwosu) and Ryan (Davis) set the tone early and were leaders. Mekhi hasn't played point guard all year but did a great job sliding over and doing that when we needed him today."

It was behind Dade that the Marauders scored the game's first 11 points, and Stover's first bucket with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half gave the Marauders their first double-digit lead. The Marauders led by as many as 17 in the first half before Mansfield close the half on a 12-4 run, making it a 37-28 game at the break. Mansfield also opened the second half with five quick points, cutting Millersville's advantage to four points, but the Marauders responded by feeding Stover. 

Stover stopped Mansfield's run with a bucket, and over the next 11 minutes, he scored 13 points as part of a 28-9 Millersville run that ballooned Millersville's lead to 23 points. Mansfield shot just 2-of-16 from the field in that stretch while Millersville hit 12-of-18. 

"Drew is one of the most talented kids I've coached," said Stitzel. "When he's locked in and playing his game, he's very hard to stop. He has a high IQ, very athletic, and very skilled. He and Gross had a great two-man game going today. The upside for him is through the roof. He also did some rim protecting today which we've been asking of him and that's huge."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville held a 47-27 advantage on the glass, setting a season-high for rebounds and posting its widest rebounding margin since Jan. 24, 2022. Waters led the Marauders with a career-high nine rebounds. 
• Millersville limited Mansfield to 28.8% shooting from the field and 25.0% from three. Both are the second-lowest shooting marks against the Marauders this season. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville looks to extend its winning streak with back-to-back home games this week. The Marauders host Shepherd on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.