ABOUT THE GAME

• After escaping Shepherd with its first overtime win of the season and its first road win over the Rams since 1990, Millersville found itself in a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC East with five games remaining. The Marauders are winners of five in a row and 12 of the last 13. The latest D2CSC Poll moved Millersville up to No. 4, which is its highest ranking of the season. Inkblot Sports, which calculates region rankings similar to the NCAA committee, has Millersville fifth with the region’s No. 4 RPI. It is the second time in the last three seasons that Millersville has won at least 19 of its first 23 games, and it is a feat that has happened just seven times in program history (2022-23, 2006-07, 1986-87, 1985-86, 1984-85, 1973-74). Five of the previous six went on to win the PSAC East title. Millersville hosts Mansfield on Saturday and is looking for a 12th consecutive win over the Mountaineers. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• The Marauders have scored at least 80 points in five consecutive PSAC East games for the first time since 1992-93, and they’ve shot over 50% from the field in all five games as well as in seven of the last eight. Five players have scored in double figures in all five games. Millersville now ranks fourth in the PSAC in scoring offense (81.3) and is the only team in the conference to rank in the top five in both scoring offense and defense. Millersville is also third in the PSAC and 15th in the Division II in field goal percentage. The last time a Millersville team averaged more than 80 points per game was 2006-07. Millersville is 11-0 when shooting 50% from the field and 13-1 when scoring at least 80 points. 
• Now shooting 71.7%, not only is Drew Stover inching closer to breaking a 39-year-old program record for field goal percentage, he has jumped to No. 2 in Division II, and he is in position to become the fifth player in PSAC history to shoot over 70% in a season. The record is 72.7%, shared by Cheyney’s Harold Booker (1966) and Cal U’s Chad Scott (1994). Over the last five games, Stover is 34 for 43 (79.1%). 
• Jaden Faulkner is coming off his 20th career and eighth 20-point scoring performance this season. He made a career-high three 3-pointers at Shepherd, and he jumped former teammate James Sullivan ’22 for 22nd in career scoring with 1,349 points. Among active Division II players, Faulkner is eighth in career assist average (4.85) and 12th in total assists. He is two steals away from No. 10 all-time at Millersville. Faulkner is trending toward becoming the first Marauder since 1989 to average 5.0 assists per game for a season. That mark has been hit just seven times, and no player has ever averaged 16.0 points and 5.0 assists per game like Faulkner is right now. 
• At Shepherd Wednesday, Matt Dade recorded his first double-double of the season and ninth of his career. At 17.4 points per game and 54.8% shooting, Dade is in rare company. Only three players in Millersville history have averaged 17.0 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field in a season: Tommy Gaines ’89, Jon Dunmeyer ’93, and Lance Gelnett ’92.
   

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Mansfield is coming off a 102-85 win over Shippensburg in which it hit a season high for points and completed a season sweep of the Raiders. That performance snapped a seven-game losing streak in which Mansfield did not top 80 points in any game. Mansfield is 2-10 on the road, and its last road win was on Jan. 17 against Shippensburg in overtime. Saraj Ali has scored at least 10 points in 13 of the last 14 games and has six double-doubles this season. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville has won 17 of the last 18 games against Mansfield dating back to 2014 as well as 11 in a row overall. That is the longest winning streak by either team since Millersville won 17 in a row from 1985-92. Millersville has also won 10 in a row at home against Mansfield with the Mountaineers’ last win in Pucillo coming in 2013. Millersville has had at least one 20-point scorer in six of the last seven games against Mansfield. Millersville has scored 80 or more points in seven of the last nine meetings. Faulkner has averaged 20.8 points and 6.8 assists in his four career games against Mansfield. In the first meeting of this season, Millersville led by just two points at the half but outscored Mansfield 45-29 over the final 20 minutes for an 18-point road win.