EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - East Stroudsburg needed fewer than nine minutes to build a 21-point lead, and despite a comeback effort from Millersville, the Warriors salvaged the season split with the Marauders with an 89-67 win.
The havoc caused by East Stroudsburg's (17-5, 11-4) full-court press was the difference early. Evan Morton's lay-up off a Millersville (13-9, 9-6) miscue with 11:24 remaining in the first half gave the Warriors a 30-9 advantage and gave Millersville more turnovers (10) than points scored. The Warriors' opening salvo generated opportunity after opportunity in transition. They hit 13 of their first 18 shots, including 4 of 6 from three while Millersville attempted just eight shots in the same stretch.
"It was a little bit of everything," said Stitzel. "If you look at this rivalry the last four years, the first 10 minutes have been so big in every game. We've struggled with that when we come up here. It's like watching Groundhog Day. It's the very shaky start with the press and our half-court defense, and that makes you play frantic on offense."
After a second called timeout, Millersville settled in, outscoring the Warriors 24-14 while committing just one turnover over the final 10 minutes. Millersville continued to close, but with 13 minutes remaining, Millersville missed a point-blank layup that would have cut the deficit to five. Instead, East Stroudsburg's Ethan Millirons hit a 3-pointer, and then Lakeem McAliley took over. As part of a 16-3 East Stroudsburg run, McAliley scored 10, including two 3-pointers. That put the Marauders out of reach.
"It's hard to chase a good team when they are at home," said Stitzel. "There were about five shots at the end of the first half and then in the second half, that if they go down, it's a different game. But I was proud of the way the team fought back to get back into the game."
Alec Topper recorded his first double-double as a Marauder with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Aiden Gair led Millersville with 21, making 5 of 12 from three. McAliley led all scorers with 24.
East Stroudsburg's win snapped Millersville's three-game winning streak in the series. Millersville, however, has won just one of the last 17 games at East Stroudsburg.
After playing seven of its previous nine on the road, Millersville plays five of the final six regular season games at home, where it is 8-2 overall and 4-0 against PSAC East teams.
"We had this really tough nine-game stretch, and we handled it OK," said Stitzel. "Our focus has to be on flushing this one and focusing on the next six games where we have a great opportunity to get some wins at home."
UP NEXT
A four-game home stand begins on Feb. 12 against Kutztown.
