ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville knocked off West Chester, the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East, Wednesday night to advance to the PSAC Tournament Semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons. Millersville is the only team in the conference to be a part of the tournament final four three times since 2021. Millersville has won at least 18 games in each of the last four seasons, which is the program’s longest such streak since 1993, and its 86 wins over the last four seasons are the most in a four-year span since 1989-93. The last time Millersville reached the PSAC Semifinals with this frequency was a run of four appearances in five seasons from 2003-08. Millersville’s opponent is PSAC West champ Gannon, which is a rematch of the 2024 semifinal. Gannon is the defending tournament champion while Millersville is looking for its first trip to the title game since 2022 and its first championship since 2007. Gannon is 23-6, going 17-3 in PSAC play. Gannon is riding a seven-game winning streak.
• The game features two of the PSAC’s most prolific and efficient offenses. Gannon leads the PSAC in scoring (91.2 points per game) and scoring margin (13.0) while Millersville is fourth in scoring (82.0) and third in margin (9.5). Millersville leads the PSAC in field goal percentage (.490) while Gannon is seventh (.456). Millersville is also the only team in the conference that ranks in the top six in both scoring defense and scoring offense (fourth in both categories). Millersville is also the only team to rank in the top five in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense (fifth/.429). Gannon leads the PSAC in rebounding (43.2) and is second in offensive rebounds (16.3). However, Millersville out-rebounded West Chester, which leads the league in offensive rebounding and is second in total rebounding, in all three games this season. Gannon’s advantage is with its press and ability to create turnovers. Gannon forces a PSAC-leading 20.6 per game, and that has been Millersville’s one struggle in 2024-25. The Marauders average 14.5 turnovers per game, are 5-7 when committing 16 or more and 0-4 when committing 20 or more.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Drew Stover was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year on Thursday, joining just four other Marauders to have won the award and is Millersville’s first since 2008. Stover ranks second in the PSAC in field goal percentage and blocked shots, is third among active Division II players in career field goal percentage, and he will that was established in 1987, and he is on pace to rank third in PSAC history. He is set to become the first Marauder in history to shoot over 62% from the field in two seasons. 
• On Wednesday, Saraj Ali became the third Marauder this season to score his 1,000th career point. Ali played two seasons at Mansfield before scoring 410 with the Marauders this season. Ali is the 45th player to score 1,000 points while wearing a Millersville uniform. Stover, with 1,251 points, is one away from 30th all-time and can move up to 28th with 24 points. Stitzel has now coached 10 1,000 point scorers at Millersville.  
• Jahme Ested has been his best down the stretch, averaging 16.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists over the last six games. Ested scored a career-high 28 points, making 9 of 10 free throws and 3 of 4 threes against West Chester Wednesday. He matched a season-high in rebounds and nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 boards and seven assists in the Feb. 26 game at West Chester. He was one board shy of a double-double against Lock Haven in the quarterfinals. 
• Aiden Gair is 9 for 17 from three in the playoffs and has now sunk 90 threes, which is tied for fourth in Millersville history and the most threes made by a Marauder since 1993.  
   

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

• In terms of personnel, the 2025 Gannon little resembles the 2024 edition. Easton Bazzoli is in his first season as head coach after taking over for Jordan Fee. Bazzoli was the top assistant for the Golden Knights last season. One of the few returners is sophomore Ernest Shelton, who averaged 7.9 points per game off the bench in 2024. He's now one of the PSAC's top scorers, averaging 17.4 per game with 80 3-pointers made. Tasman Goodrick is a transfer from Division I Cal Baptist, and he's scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has posted double-doubles in five of the last six games. 
• Coming from the Jim Crutchfield coaching tree, Bazzoli utilizes a similar system that produces a high rate of turnovers on defense and lots of points on the offensive end. Gannon has topped 100 points seven times but has not since Jan. 11. One of the keys to beating Gannon is handling the press. All six of Gannon's losses have come when it creates 11 or fewer steals. It is 12-0 when recording 12 or more steals. Gannon is also 14-1 when shooting higher than 46% from the field and 12-0 when holding a rebounding advantage of greater than plus-four. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Gannon holds a 13-8 lead in the all-time series and a 6-5 edge since joining the PSAC. Millersville has won five of eight since 2014-15. Millersville and Gannon have met in the postseason five times but just once in the PSAC Tournament. That meeting was in last season’s PSAC Semifinal in Erie. Gannon won that game 98-64 on its way to winning the championship. Gannon made 9 of 13 3-pointers in the first half and shot 61% from the field for the game. Millersville, meanwhile, shot 32.8% from the field and 22.2% from three and committed 20 turnovers. Matt Dade led the Marauders with 23 points and Drew Stover scored 14. That Gannon team finished the season 32-3 and reached the Elite 8, but one of those losses was against Millersville. On Dec. 30, 2023, Millersville received 34 points from Dade, shot 66% from the field, made 8 of 12 threes and won 99-78 despite committing 26 turnovers. The programs have never played a neutral site game.