Monday, March 3
Millersville, PA
7:30 PM
Millersville University
18-11,13-9PSAC
78
vs
52
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Lock Haven
15-13,12-9PSAC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Lock Haven
22
30
52
Millersville
31
47
78
Defense makes the difference as Marauders advance in PSAC Tournament
3/3/2025 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Lock Haven entered the PSAC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference, fresh off a road win at East Stroudsburg. But the Bald Eagles ran into a brick wall that was the Millersville Marauders Monday in Pucillo Gymnasium. Millersville's half-court defense frustrated the visitors for 40 minutes, and the Marauders moved on to the PSAC Quarterfinals with a 78-52 win.
Millersville limped into the postseason with back-to-back losses, including a disappointing home defeat to Shepherd Saturday after which Coach Casey Stitzel questioned the team's effort. The Marauders responded by holding Lock Haven to its fewest points and lowest shooting percentage of the season. Lock Haven shot 27.8% from the field in the first half, but it was no aberration. For nearly eight full minutes in the second half, Millersville held Lock Haven without a point, and the 19-0 Marauders' run was the defining stretch of the game.
"We were everywhere," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "Once we get stops like that, we are off in transition. Drew (Stover) was good getting early post-ups, Aiden (Gair) hit a three. We got to the foul line. When we get stops we are a finely oiled machine. The energy off the bench was also key, keeping guys fresh."
Lock Haven shot 27.4% from the game and made 2 of 21 from three. Open shots were few as the Marauders pressured the guards, rotated brilliantly on pick-and-roll coverage, and contested shots at the rim. Five players blocked a shot.
"When our group wants to play hard and is dialed in, we can beat anyone," said Stitzel. "Guys were everywhere. Even when we made a mistake, someone would come out and contest the shot. We did a great job walling up when guys drove to the basket. That's the type of effort we are capable of. The season comes down to if we can do it on the road."
Eli Washington's 3-pointer with 17:06 to play pulled Lock Haven to within 35-30, but the Marauders did not allow another bucket until the 9:32 mark. Lock Haven missed 11 consecutive shots, and the offensive rebounding that kept them afloat in the first half (10) disappeared. The one-shot possessions allowed Millersville to push the game's pace. Drew Stover, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, scored seven in that stretch, Gair scored five, and Alec Topper's two-hand, put-back slam was the exclamation point. Millersville out-scored Lock Haven 47-30 over the final 20 minutes with Stover and Aiden Gair combining for 22.
With the teams' familiarity and having just played nine days ago, early offense was limited early. Lock Haven also swarmed post-ups by Stover and Saraj Ali, adjusting after Stover made 15 of 16 for 32 points in the previous meeting. But senior guard Jahme Ested aggressively sought his shot off drives into the paint, and he scored 12 of his 16 in the first half. He made half of the team's first-half field goals.
"Jahme was awesome," said Stitzel. "He might have played his best game of the season. We've been challenging him. I thought he brought it on both sides of the floor. (Lock Haven) sunk into the paint because of the way Drew hurt them last time. They weren't going to let him get 32 again. They did a good job of packing the paint, and Jahme did a good job taking advantage of that."
Millersville has now won a postseason game for the third time in the last four seasons, and Monday's win gave the Marauders 18 victories for the fourth season in a row--the longest stretch for a Millersville team since the run from 1985-93. Millersville now heads to the PSAC East's No. 1 seed West Chester on Wednesday. The teams split the regular season meetings with West Chester edging the Marauders 75-70 last Wednesday. It will be Millersville's first postseason game at West Chester since 2013 and only the third all-time. Millersville won at West Chester in 2005 on its way to the PSAC title game.
"We've not been perfect," said Stitzel. "We've made some mistakes, and I've made some mistakes. But when we came into practice Sunday, the guys had great spirit and were energetic. They still believed. They've kept that attitude all year. In my 20 years of doing this, I've never rooted for a team harder to figure it out because of how good they've been with their backs against the wall...When we lost (at West Chester) last week we had one goal, which was to have one more shot at redemption to see if we can go beat a good team on the road. We will have to do that in a really tough atmosphere."
Tip at West Chester is set 7:30 p.m.
Millersville limped into the postseason with back-to-back losses, including a disappointing home defeat to Shepherd Saturday after which Coach Casey Stitzel questioned the team's effort. The Marauders responded by holding Lock Haven to its fewest points and lowest shooting percentage of the season. Lock Haven shot 27.8% from the field in the first half, but it was no aberration. For nearly eight full minutes in the second half, Millersville held Lock Haven without a point, and the 19-0 Marauders' run was the defining stretch of the game.
"We were everywhere," said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. "Once we get stops like that, we are off in transition. Drew (Stover) was good getting early post-ups, Aiden (Gair) hit a three. We got to the foul line. When we get stops we are a finely oiled machine. The energy off the bench was also key, keeping guys fresh."
Lock Haven shot 27.4% from the game and made 2 of 21 from three. Open shots were few as the Marauders pressured the guards, rotated brilliantly on pick-and-roll coverage, and contested shots at the rim. Five players blocked a shot.
"When our group wants to play hard and is dialed in, we can beat anyone," said Stitzel. "Guys were everywhere. Even when we made a mistake, someone would come out and contest the shot. We did a great job walling up when guys drove to the basket. That's the type of effort we are capable of. The season comes down to if we can do it on the road."
Eli Washington's 3-pointer with 17:06 to play pulled Lock Haven to within 35-30, but the Marauders did not allow another bucket until the 9:32 mark. Lock Haven missed 11 consecutive shots, and the offensive rebounding that kept them afloat in the first half (10) disappeared. The one-shot possessions allowed Millersville to push the game's pace. Drew Stover, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, scored seven in that stretch, Gair scored five, and Alec Topper's two-hand, put-back slam was the exclamation point. Millersville out-scored Lock Haven 47-30 over the final 20 minutes with Stover and Aiden Gair combining for 22.
With the teams' familiarity and having just played nine days ago, early offense was limited early. Lock Haven also swarmed post-ups by Stover and Saraj Ali, adjusting after Stover made 15 of 16 for 32 points in the previous meeting. But senior guard Jahme Ested aggressively sought his shot off drives into the paint, and he scored 12 of his 16 in the first half. He made half of the team's first-half field goals.
"Jahme was awesome," said Stitzel. "He might have played his best game of the season. We've been challenging him. I thought he brought it on both sides of the floor. (Lock Haven) sunk into the paint because of the way Drew hurt them last time. They weren't going to let him get 32 again. They did a good job of packing the paint, and Jahme did a good job taking advantage of that."
Millersville has now won a postseason game for the third time in the last four seasons, and Monday's win gave the Marauders 18 victories for the fourth season in a row--the longest stretch for a Millersville team since the run from 1985-93. Millersville now heads to the PSAC East's No. 1 seed West Chester on Wednesday. The teams split the regular season meetings with West Chester edging the Marauders 75-70 last Wednesday. It will be Millersville's first postseason game at West Chester since 2013 and only the third all-time. Millersville won at West Chester in 2005 on its way to the PSAC title game.
"We've not been perfect," said Stitzel. "We've made some mistakes, and I've made some mistakes. But when we came into practice Sunday, the guys had great spirit and were energetic. They still believed. They've kept that attitude all year. In my 20 years of doing this, I've never rooted for a team harder to figure it out because of how good they've been with their backs against the wall...When we lost (at West Chester) last week we had one goal, which was to have one more shot at redemption to see if we can go beat a good team on the road. We will have to do that in a really tough atmosphere."
Tip at West Chester is set 7:30 p.m.
Team Stats
LH
MU
FG%
.274
.431
3FG%
.095
.333
FT%
.714
.769
RB
40
46
TO
12
13
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
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