GREENSBURG, Pa. - Millersville's efficient offensive execution at the close of both halves paved the way to a 78-71 road win over Seton Hill Wednesday night. A 16-3 Marauder run to end the first half turned the game in the Marauders' favor, and they then doubled-up the Griffins over the final six minutes, turning a tied game into a runaway triumph. 

Junior forward Drew Stover scored a career-high 26 points and put the finishing touches on both of Millersville's victory-defining runs. His lay-up with five second remaining in the first half gave Millersville its first lead of the game and completely erased what had been a 12-point deficit fewer than four minutes before. Stover then slammed home the Marauders' final bucket of the game, capping an 18-9 stretch over the final six minutes in which Millersville made 8-of-12 shots from the field and limited the Griffins to just two made field goals. 

"I thought we did a good job attacking off the middle and getting Drew involved in the short corner," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "We emphasized that. He did a good job getting open. Matt (Dade) and Jaden (Faulkner) did a good job finding him. Jahme (Ested) and J.D. (Gross) did a good job getting into the paint and that opened up some shots from Day (Waters). That's a great gut-check win. We got stops in the last couple minutes, followed the defensive scouting report and executed well."

Stover made 10-of-15 shots from the field and sank all six of his free throws, and connecting at the line was key for the Marauders as they made 20-of-22. Day Waters scored eight of his 19 points in the late Marauder charge to close the first half. He finished the game 5-of-9 from the field, 4-of-6 from three and 5-of-7 from the line. 

After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, Millersville built up a six-point advantage before Seton Hill slowly crept back into the lead. The Griffins led 62-60 after leading scorer Ryan Meis made 1-of-2 at the line. Millersville's leading scorer, Jaden Faulkner, had struggled with his shot, missing his first eight shots from the field, but his driving bucket at the six-minute mark retied the game. Meis connected on three consecutive free throws with 3:57 to play, but again, Faulkner scored a timely bucket, getting a backside offensive rebound and put-back to put Millersville on top. The Marauders scored 12 points in the final 3:30, and clamped down on the Griffins, forcing misses on 4-of-5 3-point attempts. 

"We shot it at the foul line very well, and that's a big positive," said Stitzel. "Slowly but surely we are starting to see glimpses of the Millersville D. We made some changes to the way we defend a little. If we keep improving defensively, that will be big on nights when we don't shoot it as well, like tonight. There were a lot of positives, and that was a good win over a good, winning team."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• While the Marauders shot just 42.2% from the field and 30.8% from three, they turned the ball over just five times. Defensively, Millersville limited Seton Hill to 41.9% shooting and the Griffins made just 8-of-25 3-pointers and 11-of-19 free throws. 
• After shooting under 80% from the line in each of the first seven games of the season, the Marauders have shot 80% or higher in four of the last five. 
• Stover blocked three shots. Faulkner led Millersville with eight rebounds, and he and Jahme Ested shared team-high honors with four assists apiece.

GAME NOTES

• Stover recorded his third 20-point performance of the season, and his 26 topped his previous career-high of 25, which he tallied in the season opener against Livingstone. 
• Matt Dade extended his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 16 with 13 points. 
• Wednesday's game was only the eighth all-time meeting between the Marauders and Griffins. Millersville has won the last four, three of which were played in Greensburg. 

UP NEXT

• Millersville navigated its PSAC West portion of the schedule with a 4-2 record and opens its PSAC East slate on Jan. 10 at Shippensburg.