ABOUT THE GAME

• Wednesday is the 173rd meeting between PSAC East rivals Millersville and East Stroudsburg. Over the last three seasons, the teams have posted identical 50-16 records in PSAC play and have played to a share of two of the last three PSAC East titles. Millersville returns home for the first time since Jan. 3 after a four-game road trip. The Marauders are 6-2 at home and East Stroudsburg is 5-2 on the road. ESU enters the game with a slight, one-game lead on Millersville in the PSAC East standings. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville leads the PSAC in field goal percentage (.482) and is fourth in scoring average (82.1), but they’ve been incredibly dynamic at home, averaging 88.0 points per game on 51% shooting. Millersville has made 32 more free throws than their opponents at home as well. Jahme Ested is shooting 43.5% from three in his seven home games. Drew Stover is shooting 71.6% from the field at home, and Saraj Ali is averaging 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game compared to 11.9 points per game on the road. 
• Stover has scored 20-plus points in four of the last five games and enters Wednesday ranked seventh in the PSAC in scoring average at 18.4 points per game. Since the turn of the century, only Reggie Bates (2007-08), Matt Dade (2023-24) and Marcus Adkison (2017-18) have averaged at least 18.0 points per game as a Marauder. No Marauder has accomplished that feat without making at least 95 free throws. Stover is averaging 3.0 per game and has made just three 3-pointers. He’s scoring with incredible efficiency, connecting on 67.2% of his shots. He ranks ninth in Division II, and his 66.2 career percentage is fourth among active DII players. If he holds that mark, he will tie for fourth in PSAC history. 
• Ested is coming off a near-triple-double performance against Kutztown. His 11 rebounds and seven assists both matched career highs. It was the second double-double of his career. Ested has averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game in the nine games since his return from injury. He now ranks 10th in the PSAC in assists and fourth in steals. 
   

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• East Stroudsburg has won four of its last five games, and while the Warriors have consistently ranked among the PSAC’s top scoring team’s during Jeff Wilson’s tenure and currently rank second (84.9), they’ve topped 80 in regulation in just one of the last six games. East Stroudsburg’s press gives teams probems. The Warriors rank second in the PSAC with 19.6 turnovers forced per game and a 3.65 turnover margin. Their 10.29 steals per game rank third. McAliley is a contender for PSAC East Athlete of the Year, averaging 19.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cam Young leads the PSAC with 3.0 steals per game, and McAliley is third (2.0). 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville and East Stroudsburg has become one of the PSAC’s most competitive rivalries in recent years. The teams have evenly split the last 10 meetings. Millersville has won four of the last five at home, and since 1984, the Marauders are 29-12 against the Warriors at home. Nine of the last 10 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The teams played two thrillers two weeks apart last season with Millersville winning 93-88 in the regular season behind 37 points from Matt Dade, and 74-66 in the PSAC Quarterfinals with 20 points from Jaden Faulkner. Lakeem McAliley was outstanding against the Marauders last season, posting 25, 25 and 22 points in three games. Jahme Ested has played against ESU seven times, and in the six games he played at least 10 minutes, he’s scored double figures three times, including 11 points in last season’s regular season game at home, and he had 13 points and eight boards in the playoff game. Drew Stover has five career games against ESU and has scored 10-plus three times. He went scoreless at ESU last season but scored 15 in the playoff match-up. In the Jan. 14, 2023 game at home, Stover put up 22 points.