ABOUT THE GAME

• With five consecutive victories, Millersville has surged into a four-way tie for second place in a crowded PSAC East and trails first place by just two games. Wednesday’s opponent, Shepherd, lurks a game behind the second-place logjam and already owns a win over the Marauders this season. Expect a low-scoring battle Wednesday as Millersville and Shepherd rank third and fourth in the PSAC in scoring defense, and the first meeting featured a 57-50 final score. The teams have nearly identical profiles. Millersville averages 69.6 points and allows 65.8 per game. Shepherd averages 68.6 and allows 68.0. In field goal percentage defense, Millersville allows 43.3% shooting while Shepherd allows 43.7. Rebounding averages are nearly identical as well with Millersville averaging 33.1 total rebounds, 8.8 offensive rebounds and allowing 32.9 rebounds. Shepherd averages 32.9, 8.4 and 32.3 in the same categories. The one area where Shepherd holds an edge is in 3-point shooting. The Rams rank third in the PSAC at 35.8% and have made more threes (186) than any other team in the league. Their 520 3-point attempts are 140 more than Millersville. That’s a tough match-up for the Marauders as their 3-point defense ranks 17th in the league, allowing 36.3% shooting. Threes were the difference in the first meeting as Millersville shot 4-of-23 while Shepherd hit 11-of-27. Millersville held the Rams to 29% on two-point shots in the game.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Drew Stover delivered a career performance at Mansfield, scoring a career-high 24 points. It was his third 20-point game of the season. He made his first 10 shots from the field and also made his first career 3-pointer. He also blocked a career-high three shots. His performance was needed as Matt Dade left the game after six minutes with an injury. Dade had five points at the time, and it broke a string of six-straight games with at least 12 points for Dade. Both Dade and Stover have been at their best against PSAC teams, leading the team in scoring at 13.1 and 12.0 points per game respectively. Dade is shooting 50.5% and Stover is shooting 60.6% against PSAC foes. 
• Day Waters broke into the starting lineup after 12 points vs. Gannon, and Millersville is now 4-0 with Waters starting. Waters tallied a career-high 13 points and nine rebounds at Mansfield. Fellow freshman starter Keith Mency has made a 3-pointer in six-straight games and has connected on 12-of-13 free throws this season. J.D. Gross also produced career highs in points, rebounds shots made and matched career highs in steals and blocks against Mansfield. 
• During the recent five-game winning streak, Millersville has held opponents to 62.8 points per game and 38.9% shooting while averaging 70.6 points and 46.5% shooting. 
   

SCOUTING SHEPHERD

• Shepherd is 5-5 on the road with two consecutive road losses by a grand total of three points. On Jan. 23, the Rams fell 70-69 at West Chester on a buzzer-beater, and then lost 68-66 at Shippensburg two days later. Shepherd led 61-57 with 1:28 to play. Shepherd now has five losses of five points or fewer. 
• The Rams aren't shy about hoisting 3-pointers. They've made 10 or more threes eight times this season. Daniel McClain-Corley has made a team-high 49 threes (37.4%) while Jon Preston leads in percentage (41.7%), hitting 48-of-115. McClain-Corley has scored in double figures in all but two games, has five 20-point games and scored a season-high 32 against East Stroudsburg on Jan. 18. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Wednesday marks just the 18th all-time meeting between Millersville and Shepherd and the seventh since Shepherd joined the PSAC in 2019-20. Shepherd has had Millersville’s number, winning five of the last seven. Millersville, however, is 7-1 all-time at home and has won two in a row in Pucillo Gymnasium. Six of the last seven games have been decided by 10 points or fewer, but Shepherd has won four in a row by single-digits. 
• The Last Meeting Shepherd 57, Millersville 50 (1/7/2023): For the third time in the last four games, Millersville failed to score 60 points, and that resulted in its third loss in four games. Shepherd got hot from three for one short stretch in the second half, and that was enough to top the struggling Marauders, 57-50. After taking a 35-34 lead with 16 minutes to play, Millersville missed five of its next six shots while Shepherd made threes on four of five possessions.