KUTZTOWN, Pa. - A fast start to the game, and an even better second half ensured that there would be no overtime drama for the Millersville Marauders Wednesday at Kutztown. Day Waters recorded the first double-double of his career and six players scored in double-figures as the Marauders rolled, 95-76. 

After playing back-to-back overtime games against sub-.500 teams, Millersville (21-4, 16-3 PSAC) earned some much-needed rest for its starters heading into Saturday's home clash with fellow first-place team East Stroudsburg by putting Wednesday's game out of reach early in the second half. The Marauders buried the Golden Bears (4-22, 3-17) by making eight of their first nine shots, leading by as many as 17 points in the first half before extending the lead to as many as 31 in the second.

"It was more about getting back to Millersville basketball," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "We didn't do that Saturday. If we played Millersville basketball and got back to good habits the result would happen. We had a chance pull away in the first half but had some self-inflicted mistakes, but the guys responded at the half. We have good leadership, and they corrected their mistakes. At the end of the day, you get a road win, and some rest for the tough stretch coming up."

Waters, Jaden Faulkner, and Matt Dade had all played 40-plus minutes in each of the previous two games, but no starter played more than Waters' 32 minutes at Kutztown on Wednesday night. Four of the starters played fewer than 30. Still, four of the five scored 12 or more points with Waters' 19 leading the way. 

"We've been saying that we need to guard better, and we still do need to guard better and communicate more, but we saw signs of that defensively tonight," said Stitzel. "We know we are tough to guard, especially when crash the glass and get 17 offensive rebounds like we did tonight. For us, it comes down to getting stops and not turning it over."

Millersville extended its winning streak to seven while topping 81 points in each of those games. It is the first time in program history that Millersville has scored 81 or more in seven consecutive PSAC East wins. Five players scored in double figures for the sixth time in that seven-game stretch as well. 

Millersville held a 43-34 advantage on the glass and turned the 17 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points. Millersville also totaled 16 assists to just nine turnovers while Kutztown managed nine assists to 11 turnovers. All five of Millersville starters contributed at least two assists. 

"The difference in the offense lately is trusting in teammates," said Stitzel. "There is a play or two where I thought we could make the extra pass, and before I can say anything, the guy is going to his teammate and saying he missed it. We are tough to guard inside, we have the shooting. and we have the point guard to make everyone better. Jordan (Nkoa Abessolo) and J.D. (Gross) gave us great minutes off the bench tonight. We don't need them to score, just do the dirty work. When we share the ball, and don't turn it over, we are hard to guard. We play against three very good defensive teams coming up so hopefully we can stick to our good habits and keep it up." 

Millersville needed fewer than five minutes to build its first double-digit lead as Waters canned his first three attempts from long range. In the second half, Millersville made 13 of its first 26 shots and 14 of its first 16 free throws, outscoring Kutztown 44-25 for its largest lead at 92-61 with more than six minutes to play. Kutztown made the difference more respectable with a 15-3 run over those final six minutes. Millersville's shooting percentage, which finished at 45.7, took a hit as it missed eight of its final nine shots with the game well in hand. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Waters made 5 of 9 3-pointers and completed the double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds. He also recorded a career-high four assists. Matt Dade finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Drew Stover scored 14 points, and Jaden Faulkner added 12 points, three assists and two steals. Jahme Ested led the team with three steals. J.D. Gross scored 11 points, and Jordan Nkoa Abessolo made a career-high 7 of 8 free throws for 10 points. 

GAME NOTES

• Millersville has won three in a row against Kutztown for the first time since 2012-14 and won three in a row at Kutztown for the first time since 2001-03. Millersville scored 90 in the first game of the season against Kutztown and has scored at least 88 in each of the last four games against the Golden Bears. 
• The NCAA Selection Committee released its first official regional rankings Wednesday before the game. The committee released 10 unranked teams in each of the eight regions. Millersville was among the 10 teams listed under consideration in the Atlantic Region. 

UP NEXT

• Only three games remain in the regular season, and Millersville and East Stroudsburg (22-3, 16-3) are tied for first place in the PSAC East. The teams clash Saturday at Pucillo Gymnasium at 3 p.m. It is Millersville's Senior Day. Faulkner and Dade will be recognized before tip.