ABOUT THE GAME

• The Millersville Marauders are 3-0 since the calendar turned to 2024, and including four consecutive wins, the Marauders have won seven of the last eight. The Marauders host Shepherd in Pucillo Gymnasium Wednesday where they are 8-1. Millersville has been outstanding on the offensive end over the last seven games in particular, shooting 49.4% from the field, 36.3% from three, 77.4% from the line and averaging 82.4 points per game. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Now averaging 5.5 assists per game, Jaden Faulkner ranks second in the PSAC and 26th in Division II. He is five assists away from becoming the sixth player in program history with 400. No Marauder has averaged more than 5.0 assists in a season since Mike Monroe’s 5.9 in 1987-88. Faulkner is doing it all for the Marauders lately. He ranks 11th in the PSAC in scoring, 19th in rebounding, second in assists, and eighth in steals. He’s recorded a double-double in two of the last four games, and he’s coming off a week in which he averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game, winning the PSAC East Athlete of the Week Award for the fifth time in his career. Faulkner is 10 steals from 10th all-time and 16 points from 30th all-time. 
•  With eight blocks in the last three games, Drew Stover moved into first in the PSAC with 1.6 blocks per game. Stover has blocked two or more shots seven times this season. On Tuesday, he was named the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week for the first time. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Shepherd is coming off a 71-53 win over Mansfield but prior to that had lost three games in a row at Indiana, at home against East Stroudsburg and at West Chester. Shepherd defeated Bowie State and Mercyhurst, which beat Millersville, but lost to Virginia Union, Seton Hill and Slippery Rock, which Millersville beat. The Rams play a slow, defensive-minded style, resulting in the lowest scoring output of any team in the PSAC (63.6 points per game) Shepherd, however, ranks second in the league in scoring defense, surrendering just 65.1 points per game. The pace of play results in opponents attempting just 53.5 shots per game. Only Mercyhurst holds teams to fewer shot attempts per game. Shepherd allows teams to shoot 36.9% from three, which is the third-highest in the league. While Millersville gets to the free throw line 23.4 times per game, Shepherd does not often foul. Opponents attempt just over 16 free throws per game vs. the Rams--the third fewest in the PSAC. 
   

SERIES HISTORY

•  Millersville and Shepherd have played some thrillers in recent seasons, and since Shepherd joined the PSAC in 2019-20, the Rams hold a slight 4-3 edge in the series. Five of those seven games have been decided by single digits, including the most recent meeting, which Millersville won 59-57, surviving a missed game-winner attempt from Shepherd at the buzzer. Millersville held an eight-point lead with 30 seconds remaining before the Rams nearly pulled off a shocker. Three of last four meetings at Pucillo Gymnasium have been decided by no more than four points. Shepherd’s only win at Millersville came on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer (73-72) in 2020. Since then, the home team has won the last six meetings. Millersville averaged just 54.5 points and Shepherd scored 57 in the two games last season.