WEST CHESTER, Pa. — It was a game of runs between two of the top teams in the PSAC East, but the Golden Rams eked out the victory over the Marauders in the down-to-the-wire finish, 75–70.

After dismantling West Chester (22–5, 17–3) in the first meeting at Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville's first half looked like a continuation of that performance. Though the offense took a little bit to get going, Millersville recorded its first made field goal just over six minutes into the game, the Marauders used a 28–10 run to catapult themselves ahead 30–20 towards the end of the first half.

"For us, it's been the same thing all year. When we rebound, defend, and share the ball, we're at our best," said head coach Casey Stitzel.

During that eight-minute run in the first half, the Marauders did all those three things in addition to shooting 10-of-13 from the field, an easy recipe for success. 'Ville's offense got going once two of its starters, Saraj Ali and Aiden Gair, got in rhythm. Once the lid came off the bucket, Gair was able to get a layup and a three-pointer to fall in, and an Ali layup off an Jahme Ested drop-off pass gave Millersville its first lead of the game 17–15, forcing the Golden Rams to burn a timeout.

The break didn't cool off the Marauders, as they forced three West Chester turnovers and converted that to two points each trip back down the floor. By the end of the first half, Gair and Ali had combined for 22 of Millersville's 36 points in the opening frame. The Marauders momentum seemed to carry over into the second half as well, turning their 36–29 halftime lead to a 48–34 advantage in the first three minutes. Ali and Drew Stover both reached double-digits in the game with layups to get the offense started, and Ested was creating looks as he found Gair for an open three-pointer. Coming out of a West Chester timeout, the tide shifted towards the host's favor.

"They started trapping and pressing, and we allowed them to do that rather than using that against them; trying to get the ball in the middle and make plays off that," said Stitzel.

The switch flipped for the Golden Rams, as the next five minutes would see the 14-point Marauders lead turn into a three-point deficit for 'Ville. The press flustered the Marauders transition game, forcing six turnovers, as Millersville only attempted two field goals during the 17-point swing. On the other side, the balanced Golden Rams attack created problems for Millersville's defense, with five different scorers combining for six-of-eight shooting from the field and making all four free throw attempts in the span.

"Our kryptonite this year has been our turnovers," Stitzel said. "That's what started they were able to get out in transition after struggling to score in the half court. Besides that stretch, we played well, we defended, did a pretty good job on the glass. But we have to find a way to flip the script. We have to find a way to get rid of that five-minute stretch."

A 5:39 scoring drought for Millersville was broken by Ested and followed by a layup from Stover, but the Golden Rams jumped back ahead with an 8–0 run to give themselves a cushion. As the shots were not falling from the field, the Marauders hurt themselves at the free throw line as well. With a couple of chances to narrow the gap, Millersville left 11 points at the charity stripe, a missed opportunity to aid their comeback.

"It's killer," said Stitzel. "There are a couple times while their making their run, if we make two free throws, we might get some of that momentum and slow the game down a little bit on the road. The foul line definitely hurt us; we have to be better with our free throws."

A quick 8–3 run got the Marauders to within three, but they were forced to finish the final two and a half minutes without their starting center after Stover was called for his fifth foul, finishing the game with 14 points and eight rebounds. Ested, who nearly posted a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, recorded his sixth when he hit Aamir Hurst for his three-point make of the game with 2:15 remaining. The next possession, Hurst split his free-throws to make it 67–66 West Chester with 1:30 left on the clock. The Marauders defense nearly did its job, forcing two misses, but allowed offensive rebounds on each of those before Joshua Walker converted on the third-chance opportunity. 

Needing a bucket, disaster struck for 'Ville as they were unable to get set offensively before turning it right back over to West Chester. Walker was sent to the line and hit two more free throws, giving the Golden Rams the insurance they needed to secure the win in the final minute. 

The Marauders now stand at 17–10 overall and 13–7 heading into their final game of the regular season.

"We've got a stretch here that we've been working for," said Stitzel. "There's still a lot of room for us to improve, and that's the exciting part going into this final week."

UP NEXT
Millersville hosts Shepherd in a seeding-deciding Senior Day game at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 1^st at Pucillo Gymnasium. With the two teams deadlocked at 13–7, the winner will get the No. 3 seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament.