MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It wasn't pretty. No one thought it would be. And at this stage of the season, it doesn't matter. All that matters are wins, and Millersville did just that Wednesday at home, edging Shepherd 59-57, surviving a Rams' near-miss on a potential game-winner at the buzzer. 

Millersville's (13-8, 10-5) win extended its winning streak to six and kept it in second place in the PSAC East, but it was a struggle. It was the second meeting of the season between the teams, and in both games, the winning team finished with point totals in the 50's. Two of the top defensive teams in the PSAC made half-court offense nearly impossible. Millersville's inability to polish off the game at the free throw line (2-of-5 in the final 30 seconds) cracked the door for Shepherd to pull off a nearly shocking comeback. 

A Ryan Davis steal and slam dunk gave Millersville an eight-point lead with 30 seconds to play, but Shepherd got a quick bucket from Dan McClain-Corley, and a missed Millersville foul shot was followed by a Jon Preston 3-pointer. Millersville navigated Shepherd's full-court press with a long pass to Davis, and he was fouled with 11 seconds to go. He missed the first but made the second for a 58-54 lead. Preston cut Millersville's lead to one with another 3-pointer seconds later. The in-bounds pass after the three found Keith Mency. Mency had carried the Marauders in the second half, scoring 10 of his 12 points, but the 90% free throw shooter made one of two. Shepherd, without timeouts, sped ahead with the ball in Preston's hands. The 42% 3-point shooter pulled up at the ring wing, and his bank shot bounced off the front of the rim as time expired. 

Shepherd's last three losses--all on the road--have come by a combined total of five points. Millersville's six wins in a row include five single-digit wins and three came down to a missed shot at the buzzer. 

"Shepherd plays a little differently than everyone else in the league," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "This team really makes you work, and when you make a mistake, they take advantage of it. For the most part, we did a really good job against the three. They made some tough threes at the end. But we are winning games like this because of our defense. That's our calling card."

The Rams take more threes than any other team in the PSAC and made 11 against the Marauders in the first meeting on Jan. 7. Millersville limited the Rams to just five threes made until the final seconds. 

Millersville led for nearly 39 minutes of the 40-minute game, and that was because of its fast start, shooting 54.5% in the first half. That took a turn in the second as Millersville shot 29.6% over the final 20 minutes and went nearly eight minutes without a point. Still, it held on to the lead. Shepherd's shooting was just the opposite. The Rams shot 34.6% in the first half but rebounded by shooting 53.8% in the second.

Mency seemed to be the only Marauder connecting on shots in the second half. He scored seven points in a row before the long drought, and he canned a step-back jumper with 1:44 to go that gave Millersville a 51-47 lead. He finished with 12 points, and it was his most points scored in seven games.

"He's been struggling with when to pass and when be aggressive and try to score," said Stitzel. "I thought in the first half he was iffy with that. They were going under the ball screen. He's a very good shooter. If they switched a big on him, he could be aggressive on the bounce. He's a guy who can do that every night. He's got the whole package. Hopefully it gets him going and builds his confidence."

Justin Nwosu led the Marauders with 13 points. Matt Dade grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Nine players played for the Marauders and all nine scored and grabbed a rebound. Stitzel subbed offense-defense in the final minutes, protecting Mency, who had four fouls, while also getting Davis on the floor. That paid off, when Davis' steal and slam all but clinched the win. 

"It's a very unique team," said Stitzel. "Every night it is someone different. Tonight it was Keith. On Saturday it was Drew (Stover). We have guys with different strengths and every game is different. That steal was huge. Any time we can get a bucket down the stretch without running an offense or making foul shots is huge.

"Keep climbing the ladder," said Stitzel. "Keep focusing on getting better. Tonight was a win against a good team with a lot of lessons in there."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville is now 8-1 all-time at home against Shepherd. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer. 
• Preston led four Rams in double-figures with 16 points. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville is back in Pucillo Gymnasium Saturday against Bloomsburg--the first of four games in seven days.