ABOUT THE GAME

• With nine consecutive wins and wins in 15 of the last 16 games, Millersville men’s basketball clinched at least a share of the PSAC East title with Wednesday’s win over West Chester, but the Marauders can win it out-right with a win at Lock Haven Saturday. The Bald Eagles are 10-1 at home and sit one game back in the division standings at 17-4 (19-7 overall). By virtue of their season sweep of East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven owns the seeding tiebreaker and can claim the No. 1 seed and share the PSAC East by knocking off the Marauders. Including this season, Millersville has won 12 PSAC East titles, finishing first in two of the last three years. Lock Haven has already scored its most wins in a season since 1990 and are looking to gain a share of a PSAC division title for the first time in program history. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• At the start of the week, Matt Dade joined Drew Stover and Jaden Faulkner as PSAC East Athlete of the Week award winners on Monday, and Jahme Ested became the third different Marauder to be named the defensive athlete of the week. That kind of balance typifies Millersville’s season as five different players have led the team in scoring, and the team has had four or more players score in double figures in each of the last nine wins. Millersville has shot over 50% from the field in nine of the last 12 games, scored 80 or more points in 14 of the last 16 (and in nine in a row), and made eight threes while shooting above 38% from three in six straight games. Millersville is 17-1 when scoring 80 or more and 16-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 80. Drew Stover leads the PSAC and ranks second nationally in field goal percentage (72.0), and will most certainly break John Fox’s school record set in 1985. He trails the single-season PSAC record by .07 and could become the fifth player in PSAC history to shoot 70% in a season. Day Waters leads the PSAC in 3-point shooting (45.6), currently with the best mark by a Marauder since 2005. He’s made two or more threes in six consecutive games. Now averaging 18.4 points per game, Dade is aiming to become the first Marauder since Reggie Bates in 2007-08 to average more than 18 points per game. Jaden Faulkner ranks 13th among active Division II players in career assist average (4.9), and that’s the second-best mark in program history, behind only Frank Oslislo’s (1963-67) 5.5. Faulkner’s season average of 5.1 assists per game is the best by a Marauder since 1989. 
   

SCOUTING THE BALD EAGLES

• Since losing at Mansfield on Feb. 21, Lock Haven has won its last two games by a combined 48 points. Lock Haven has moved up to No. 4 in the PSAC in scoring defense (71.1) and rank third in field goal percentage defense and turnover margin. Lock Haven forces 14.7 turnovers per game and commit just 12.6. Both Isaiah Stewart (ninth) and Justice Shoats (10th) rank in the top 10 in assist/turnover ratio, and not only does Shoats rank fourth in assists (4.6), he is second in the conference in scoring (20.5). He is the only player in the PSAC to rank in the top 10 in both categories, making him a strong PSAC East Athlete of the Year candidate. Six of Lock Haven’s seven losses have been by six points or fewer.

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville has won seven of the last eight and 11 of the last 13 games against Lock Haven, but since 2014, Lock Haven and Millersville are an even 5-5 in games played at Lock Haven. Millersville has won the last three, and Lock Haven’s last win over Millersville at home was a 73-70 overtime win on Feb. 23, 2019. Faulkner was a freshman that season and totaled 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks playing 44 minutes. Millersville won the first meeting of the season 91-87 and led by as many as 16 points in the second half. Stover fouled out in 27 minutes, Faulkner played just 23 because of foul trouble but still scored 19 points, and Waters played only two minutes because of an illness. Shoats scored 25 points in 40 minutes, and Collin Jones scored 18 off the bench.