JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Millersville men's basketball out-scored Pitt-Johnstown 41-19 in the game's final 17 minutes, snapping the Mountain Cats' four-game winning streak and dealing them their first home loss of the season by an 87-68 final Friday evening.
Saraj Ali made 13 of 15 shots for a season-high 26 points, and
Day Waters scored 20 while the Marauders shot 63.6% from the field despite shooting 5 of 18 from three. Ali scored 16 of his points in the final 17 minutes, and
Aamir Hurst scored 10 in that span. It was his four-point play that got the Marauders rolling.
UPJ opened the second half on an 11-5 run, a spurt highlighted by Adam Bilinsky's alley-oop slam off a Millersville turnover. Hurst erased the three-point deficit with a 3-pointer and free throw, sparking a 12-0 run in the next two minutes. Millersville's lead never again shrunk to fewer than eight points.
"It was all the things we've been harping on since we got back from break," said Millersville head coach
Casey Stitzel. "It was ball movement and defending. I didn't think we defended well enough in the first half. We had to make them do things they weren't comfortable doing. They are so well coached, so when you let them run their stuff, they will get good shots. At the media timeout we talked about getting into the passing lanes, ball pressure and getting on the glass."
Millersville's defense created havoc the remainder of the second half. UPJ shot just 4 of 15 from the field and turned it over 12 times in those final 17 minutes. Millersville forced 21 turnovers and turned them into 31 points. Pitt-Johnstown's 68 points were its fewest of the season, and it resulted in their first double-digit defeat.
"Causing 21 turnovers without pressing is huge," said Stitzel. "On the other end, we did a better job in the second half limiting the live ball turnovers and made them have to score in the half court. When we got steals, we did a great job of getting into transition and executing our plays."
Ali was unstoppable in the second half, making all nine of his shot attempts. He also recorded two blocks and a steal.
Cesar Tchilombo was also effective inside, scoring 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field and 3 for 4 shooting from the line.
"We thought we had a mismatch with Saraj," said Stitzel. "We went after that mismatch, and he did a great job...He made some nice passes when they doubled which got them into rotation and we capitalized. He's having a good year and can even get better...We went to Cesar in the first half, and he did a really good job scoring in the post."
The game was Millersville's first in nearly two weeks and its first road game since Dec. 16. It was also the Marauders' first win at Pitt-Johnstown since the 2007-08 season. Millersville had lost its previous three trips.
"It was a good all around effort," said Stitzel. "I thought the bench was really great and gave us a lift with good energy on the defense and on the glass. That's one of the best wins we've had this year. That's a really good team, well coached and a tough place to play...That's the type of identity that we have to keep traveling with. When our defense is active, it allows us to get into transition and makes us harder to guard."
NEXT UP
Millersville travels to IUP on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip. IUP is 5-1 at home and 4-1 in the PSAC after suffering an 88-83 loss to West Chester Friday evening.
