ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville is riding a six-game winning streak and that has made the PSAC East standings a log jam. Four teams, including Millersville, are tied for second place and sit 1 1/2 games behind first-place Shippensburg. Millersville is currently on the second-longest active win streak in the PSAC, trailing only IUP, which sits at 21-0. Millersville suffered three-straight home losses in early January but has since won three in a row at home and are now 8-3 in Pucillo Gymnasium. Millersville is holding opponents to 66.0 points per game and 42.9% shooting at home. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville has been outstanding on defense all season, but it has taken it up a level during the last six games. Millersville ranks third in the PSAC in scoring defense (65.4) and has allowed just 61.4 points per game on 39.6% shooting in the last six win. Millersville has also defended without fouling. In the last six games, Millersville committed 23 fewer fouls and opponents shot 48 fewer free throws. When Millersville’s defense is locked in, it is nearly unbeatable. The Marauders are 10-0 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent and 10-1 vs. PSAC opponents when holding them under 50% shooting. 
• Only one Marauder (Matt Dade at 12.5 points per game) has averaged double figures in points during the winning streak. That’s on-par for the Marauders this year as six different players have led the team in scoring. Dade leads the way with eight, and Drew Stover and Justin Nwosu have each led the team four times. In the first meeting vs. Bloomsburg, that post trio scored 46 of Millersville’s 70 points. Dade scored a season-high 21 points on a season-high 15 attempts vs. Bloomsburg, and he has a history of success against the Huskies. His career high of 27 came against Bloomsburg in 2022 when Dade played at West Chester. In five career games against Bloomsburg, Dade has scored at least 15 points four times. 
• Only twice this season as the same Marauder led the team in scoring in back-to-back games. Mency did it on back-to-back days in December vs. Edinboro and Mercyhurst, and Dade had a stretch of three-straight games as the team leader from Jan. 18-23. 
• On Wednesday against Shepherd, Mency scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. The Marauders are now 6-1 when Mency scores at least 10 points. 
   

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG

• Bloomsburg started the season 0-16 before a road win at Kutztown on Jan. 25. Since, the Huskies have lost to West Chester by 29 and Lock Haven by 38. Bloomsburg's -15.9 margin of victory is last in the 18-team PSAC, and it ranks 18th in scoring defense at 83.6 points per game. Bloomsburg's opponents are shooting 48% from the field, which places it last in field goal percentage defense as well. Millersville had success forcing turnovers in the season's first meeting, scoring 19 points off 18 turnovers. Bloomsburg's 16.2 turnovers per game ranks 17th in the PSAC. 
• Louie Wild is Bloomsburg's top offensive player, averaging 14.2 points per game and a team-high 3.4 assists while shooting 45.7% from the field, 42.6% from three and 86.8% from the line. Jake Nelson leads the team in rebounding and has four double-doubles. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday is the 196th meeting between Millersville and Bloomsburg, and aside from a two-year break during World War II, the two programs have met at least once each season since 1928. Millersville holds the all-time lead by a narrow nine-win margin and has won each of the last seven games. Throughout history, the series has seen long stretches of one-sided dominance. Millersville’s recent winning streak against follows six-straight wins for Huskies from 2016-18. Millersville’s current streak is its longest against Bloomsburg since winning nine in a row from 2001-2005. That nine-game run came on the heels of a 13-game streak by the Huskies from 1996-2001. 
• The Last Meeting Millersville 70, Bloomsburg 60 (1/4/2023): Turnovers, especially in the first half, were the difference. The Marauders scored just six points in the game's first eight minutes but switch to a trapping, full-court press that significantly impacted Bloomsburg. Over the final 12 minutes of the half, Millersville forced 11 turnovers and held the Huskies to five points. Millersville went from trailing by two to a 29-17 lead at the half. Fifteen of those points came off of Bloomsburg turnovers. Millersville extended its lead to 17 (42-25) with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Huskies cut the Marauders' lead down to as few as seven at 54-47 when Jake Nelson converted a three-point play. Justin Nwosu, however, halted the Huskies run with an and-one off an offensive rebound. Matt Dade then scored on three-straight possessions, including a three-point play of his own, to get Millersville's lead safely back into double-digits.