WEST CHESTER, Pa. - In the moments after Saturday's 21-point loss at East Stroudsburg, Millersville men's basketball head coach Casey Stitzel preached about the opportunity to respond to adversity. Millersville did just that in holding on for an 89-86 road win at rival West Chester Monday night. 

Millersville (15-4, 10-3 PSAC) broke a 40-40 halftime tie by outscoring the Golden Rams 30-13 over the opening eight minutes of the second half, but West Chester (12-7, 9-4) rallied to within one point three times in the final two minutes. Millersville did just enough to respond each time, getting two free throws from Jahme Ested, a clutch, in-traffic finish from Jaden Faulkner, and a pair of free throws from Matt Dade in the closing seconds. 

"We did a good job (responding to adversity)," said Stitzel. "West Chester is a very talented, but we have to get back to guarding if we want to be an NCAA Tournament-type of team. There was a stretch in the second half where we defended, shared the ball and made shots, but we missed some bunnies and foul shots and allowed them to get into transition and get back into the game. It's a big win. The team responded well from Saturday, but we have a lot to work on with execution."

Day Waters scored a career-high 28 points for the Marauders, drilling 6 of 12 3-pointers including three in a row as Millersville built its lead to double-digits for the first time early in the second half. Five Marauders scored in double figures with Faulkner tallying 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Drew Stover scored 16 to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Matt Dade scored 14 against his former team, and Jahme Ested added 11 points, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. 

Millersville 70-53 with 12 minutes to play and maintained a double-digit advantage until West Chester guard Robert Smith made two free throws and hit a jumper on back-to-back possessions, making the score 82-76 with just over three minutes left. The Marauders committed three consecutive turnovers against West Chester's foul-court press, and Joshua Walker, who scored 26 points, made it 83-82 with 1:48 on the clock. Ested's two free throws stemmed the tide, but Anthony Purnell Jr. quickly answered with another drive for two. 
 
As the clock ticked under a minute, Millersville put the ball in the hands of Faulkner, who ran an isolation on the right side, patiently backing his way into the paint before finishing off the glass with a defender contesting the shot. Out of a timeout, West Chester's Jordan Kellier scored to make the score 87-86. Millersville could not run out the game clock but took 27 of the 35 seconds off it before Dade was fouled attempting a shot. Dade missed the first but made the second for a two-point lead. West Chester raced the ball into the front court, but Purnell, running a hand-off with a teammate, ran through Faulkner and was whistled for an illegal screen with four seconds left. 

West Chester fouled Dade on the in-bounds pass. He made the first for the all-important three-point lead. A miss on the second gave Kellier an opportunity for a miracle, but his half-court heave hit only backboard. 

"We did make a couple nice plays and made some foul shots, but we have to be better than 58 percent on the road," said Stitzel. "We got two nice stops at the end. We guarded the hand-off right to get the offensive foul. We did a nice job with clock management as well. The last minute we did a good job."

A wild finish between Millersville and West Chester at Hollinger Field House is becoming the norm. Last season, the teams played into double overtime, and in 2022, Millersville won 73-72, surviving a West Chester 3-pointer attempt at the buzzer. Millersville has now won five of its last six against West Chester and two of the last three in Hollinger after going eight years without a win in the building. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After Millersville built its 17-point lead, West Chester shot 12 of 20 from the field and 4 of 5 from three to close the gap. That run was buoyed by Millersville making just 9 of 19 free throws. The Marauders shot 24 of 41 from the line while West Chester attempted 18, making 12. 
• West Chester's 57.6% shooting was the best by any Marauder opponent this season. Millersville was previously 2-2 when allowing an opponent to shoot better than 50%. The Marauders are now 3-4 when shooting a lower percentage than their opponent. 

GAME NOTES

• Waters' six threes were the most by a Marauder since Justin Nwosu's six against Penn State Schuylkill on Nov. 16, 2022. 
• Millersville's 11 3-pointers were a season high and the most against a PSAC opponent since Feb. 4, 2023. 
• Millersville's 41 free throw attempts were also a season high. 
• Dade scored in double figures for the 22nd consecutive game. 

UP NEXT

• Millersville's challenging week continues at home on Wednesday against Lock Haven which beat Bloomsburg Monday for its ninth consecutive win. Lock Haven is tied for first place in the East with Millersville sitting a game back.