LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - After 22 conference games, the PSAC East title will be shared by three teams. Lock Haven took advantage of a slow Millersville start for a 90-79 win, putting the Bald Eagles, Marauders and East Stroudsburg all at 18-4 heading into the PSAC Tournament. 

Lock Haven (20-7) snapped Millersville's (23-5) nine-game winning streak and claimed its first-ever share a PSAC division title and improved to 11-1 at home. Millersville earned its 12th PSAC East title all-time and its second in the last three seasons. Lock Haven will be the No. 1 seed, and Millersville the No. 2 because of the Bald Eagles' sweep of East Stroudsburg. 

Matt Dade scored 24 points, and Jaden Faulkner scored 20, but the Marauders were undone by too many turnovers (17) and too many breakdowns on defense. It was only the second time all season that Millersville allowed 90 points in a regulation game, and both resulted in losses. Lock Haven shot 51.6% from the field, made 9 of 19 3-pointers and finished with 17 assists to 11 turnovers. 

"Right now the issue with us, if we want to make a run in PSAC's and NCAA's, is we are not playing Millersville defense," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "You win nine a row and start to get all the accolades we are getting, and you stop defending. We are so talented offensively that we get away with it sometimes. But if we would guard the way we can, we would be as good as anyone in the region. We aren't defending and we aren't talking on defense. That's going to decide our season. When you play good teams and play teams three times, you can't expect to win shootouts."

After racing to an 8-0 lead, Millersville went nearly six minutes without a field goal with five turnovers and six consecutive misses. That drought put the Marauders behind by 10 at the half and playing in catch-up mode for the remainder of the game. Lock Haven's 43 halftime points matched the most Millersville had allowed in the first half of any game, and matched the Marauders' largest halftime deficit. Millersville also allowed Lock Haven to grab 25 first-half rebounds--the most by an opponent in a first half all season. Eight of the 25 were on the offensive glass. 

"We know that script because that's what happens to opponents that come to Pucillo," said Stitzel. "It only takes a couple of plays to not go your way and you lose. You fall behind because you don't play the right way, you start chipping away, and then it is just one turnover, one three, one missed call, and bam, it's back to 10. This is a good league with good players and good coaches. If you don't take care of the ball, execute the game plan and play defense, it's going to be tough to win. We've got to get the guys to understand that every possession matters."

Millersville was far more efficient on offense in the second half but didn't get the necessary stops to gain ground as Lock Haven scored 47 points and shot 58.1% from the field in the half. Lock Haven scored 20 points in the first seven minutes. The Marauders trailed by as many as 15 with just under 15 minutes to play but rallied to within striking distance near the 10-minute mark and had possession trailing, 67-63. However, a missed 3-pointer resulted in a long rebound and a fastbreak bucket for Justice Shoats, and a turnover by the Marauders turned into a another transition score for the Bald Eagles.

Fewer than two minutes later, the Marauders again cut the deficit to four with possession, but a turnover followed by back-to-back missed shots allowed Lock Haven to extend its lead back to 10. Later, with just under two minutes remaining, Millersville trailed by 82-77, but Jalen Gorham made an end-of-the-shot-clock 3-pointer that essentially sunk the Marauders' chances of a comeback. 

"That's the shot that always goes in when you don't defend on the road," said Stitzel. "I thought Lock Haven played with a little more sense of urgency. We clinched the bye on Wednesday, and they knew they had to win. We played 28 games, but this was probably the toughest game we've had. At the end of the day, we are 23-5, we are the co-champs of the PSAC East, and we know we will have to play well to win on Wednesday and advance."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Drew Stover finished with 12 points and nine rebounds after scoring two points and playing just five minutes with three fouls in the first half. Jahme Ested added 12 points and six rebounds before fouling out. 
• Isaiah Stewart played the full 40 minutes for Lock Haven and scored 20 points to go with six assists. Justice Shoats dished out six assists while committing one turnover and scored 18 points. Dyson Harwood recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. 

GAME NOTES

• Millersville has finished in first place in the PSAC East in two of the last three seasons and have reached the postseason six straight seasons under Stitzel. 

UP NEXT

• Millersville hosts a home PSAC Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 6 against the winner of the East Stroudsburg-Mansfield match-up that takes place Monday night.