SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Saraj Ali scored a career-high 30 points, blocked two shots and totaled three steals, powering the Millersville men's basketball team to an 91-89 PSAC East road win over Shippensburg Wednesday evening.
A rough start on the offensive end had the Marauders (13-8, 9-5 PSAC) trailing 37-30 with fewer than three minutes remaining in the first, but sparked by their defense, the Marauders closed the half on a 7-0 run. Millersville pulled away momentarily in the second half, leading by 12 on two occasions. But Shippensburg made it interesting late, pulling to within 89-86 in the final seconds, forcing
Aiden Gair to sink two clutch free throws to preserve Millersville's win. It was the first time this season that Millersville won a game in which it did not lead at the half and its first win in a game decided by five points or fewer.
"I honestly don't think we played great tonight," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "Our defensive rebounding has to travel a lot better. We can't just have those things in Pucillo. The biggest building block and positive is that we were able to win that close game. It wasn't pretty. We've lost that (type of) game this year. Hopefully, it gives us confidence in games on the road and close games moving forward. We made some stops, handled the press and made foul shots at the end."
Ali scored 14 in the first and 16 in the second half, effective at the rim and from range. He matched his career high with two 3-pointers and threw down four dunks. The bucket that established his new career high came on an alley-oop with 4:37 to play as the Marauders clung to a three-point lead. His back-to-back 3-pointers earlier in the second half gave Millersville its largest lead, and in the closing minute, he secured one of his seven rebounds to help preserve the win.
"He was awesome," said Stitzel of Ali. "He played a really nice defensive game, and he made some nice switches at the end that prevented Shippensburg from getting open.3-pointers late in the game. He's going to keep getting better. His upside is huge. If we don't get that kind of effort from him, we aren't winning that one."
Drew Stover gave Millersville his team-leading fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Montell Cooper provided 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Aiden Gair totaled 10 points and five assists. Millersville has now scored at least 91 points in four consecutive wins.
After going 3-5 from Nov. 26-Dec. 11, Millersville has won five of its last six including three of four on the road after starting the season 2-5 in road games. Millersville is now just a game out of second place in the East with a rematch against East Stroudsburg looming on Saturday.
Wednesday's win marked Millersville's seventh in a row and third consecutive season series sweep of Shippensburg. The Marauders have won four in a row at Shippensburg--the longest road winning streak in the series since Millersville won six-straight at Heiges Fieldhouse from 1983-1999.
"We know the road is hard," said Stitzel. "Sweeping teams is hard in this league, especially when you win big at home in the first game. That's one of the toughest scenarios in conference play. Doing that and winning the close game on the road are the biggest positives for the team. We just need to keep getting better."
UP NEXT
Millersville faces 16-5 (10-4) East Stroudsburg on the road Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip. ESU is 9-1 at home. The two teams played just two weeks ago with Millersville winning 92-85 at home.
