EDINBORO, Pa. - Drew Stover scored a game-high 22 points, leading Millersville men's basketball to a 75-63 road win over Edinboro Monday afternoon.
Millersville (7-2, 2-1 PSAC) led for nearly 38 of the game's 40 minutes and scored its third win in a row. It was the Marauders' first road win after playing seven of the first eight games at home as well as the program's first win at Edinboro since the 2006-07 season. Stover made 11-of-17 shots from the field, blocked a career-high four shots and recorded his second career double-double with 12 rebounds.
"Drew is tough to guard when he's locked in and playing with that energy," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "He even turned down some shots in the second half where he could have probably scored 30. When he's aggressive, it makes us harder to guard and teams have to pick their poison."
Jaden Faulkner added 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, sinking all six of his free throws. Millersville shot 49.2% from the field--its most efficient shooting performance since Nov. 21. The Marauders also limited Edinboro to 38.8% shooting from the field and 12.5% from three. It was the first time that Millersville held an opponent under 42%, and Edinboro's two 3-pointers made were the fewest allowed by Millersville this season.
Beginning at the 11-minute mark of the first half, Faulkner scored four consecutive points and Stover contributed six to a 13-4 run that turned a 19-14 Millersville lead into a 33-17 advantage in fewer than four minutes. Millersville made 5-of-6 shots from the field and all four of its free throw attempts in that stretch. Millersville led by eight at the break and maintained a double-digit margin for the majority of the second half.
"We had a great stretch in the middle of the first half, going up 16," said Stitzel. "Going on the road, and this is one of the farthest trips we have, it is challenging, but the team approached the game well. It is hard to get road wins in this league. There are still 20 plays that we have to get better with if we want to be the really good teams on the road. Today is a win and an opportunity to learn and keep getting better."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jahme Ested led Millersville with four assists and also added seven rebounds and six assists. He was one of six Marauders with one steal.
- Matt Dade scored 10 points, reaching double-figures for the 13th-straight game dating back to 2022-23. Dade is 22 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
- Millersville finished with 15 assists compared to just nine turnovers, marking the sixth time it has tallied more assists than turnovers. Millersville ranks third in the PSAC in assist/turnover ratio.
MORE FROM STITZEL
- On the challenges of road back-to-backs: "You are out of your routine. When you are on the road you have the hotel, different atmospheres, different practice times. But it is also an opportunity to bond and get away from things. We try to make it a positive. If we are going to do anything this year, we have to play good road basketball. With the break coming up, we tell the players that you don't travel six hours to hold back energy. We will have to play with that energy tomorrow against a very good, and very well-coached Mercyhurst team."
GAME NOTES
- Faulkner has scored at least 16 points in each of the last eight games. Faulkner moved up to No. 31 on the career scoring list Monday, passing Coach Stitzel's father, Glenn Stitzel '68, who tallied 1,171 points and averaged 16.0 points per game as a Marauder.
- Millersville has now won three in a row and five of the last six over Edinboro.
UP NEXT
- Millersville makes the short trip north to Erie for a 3 p.m. tip against Mercyhurst on Tuesday. Millersville is 0-4 all-time at Mercyhurst.
