Slow start, cold finish costs Marauders at Shepherd

Wednesday, February 11

Shepherdstown, WV

7:30 PM

Millersville University

16-8,11-6PSAC

Shepherd

15-8,12-5PSAC

Millersville

Shepherd

Slow start, cold finish costs Marauders at Shepherd

2/11/2026 9:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Millersville rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to take an eight-point lead with five minutes remaining. But the Marauders made just two shots the rest of the way, and Shepherd pulled away for a key 65-61 PSAC East win.

Shepherd, now winners of six in a row, swapped places with Millersville in the PSAC East standings with the win, moving into first, while Millersville drops into a second, a game out of the lead. The Rams outscored Millersville 18-6 over the final five minutes, sinking 12 of 13 at the line and producing points on 10 of its final 12 possessions.

After Carnell Henderson's 3-pointer put the Marauders up 55-47, the only two field goals the Marauders made were a put-back dunk by Jase Holland and a last-second, inconsequential layup from Dante Weise. Millersville shot 2 of 7 from the field and 2 of 6 from the line.

"The missed foul shots killed us," said Millersville coach Casey Stitzel. "Cesar (Tchilombo) fouling out was big because he was having a big impact for us defensively and screening. We just didn't make the plays. (Shepherd) made them; we didn't. We rushed a couple of possessions and could have gotten a better shot. The pace of the game was so slow, and when you are playing a game like that you have to value every possession. Every lost possession hurts."

Shepherd's ability to get to, and convert, from the line, was the difference in the final minutes. Favor Okigweh, who totaled 17 rebounds, scored eight of his 12, sinking 6 of 6 from the line in that final stretch. It was also his steal and fast break slam with one minute remaining that put Shepherd up five and proved the back breaker for the Marauders. Millersville was whistled for 19 fouls in the game, including five in fewer than four minutes as Shepherd retook the lead. Tchilombo picked up his fourth and fifth fouls on back-to-back possessions and left the game with 3:15 remaining. Shepherd outscored Millersville 14-6 after Tchilombo exited.

"I thought the game was refereed well for 35 minutes, and it shifted in the last five minutes," said Stitzel. "Dante (Weise) got knocked out of bounds on a baseline drive, and then they and and-one at the other end. The fouls didn't match down the stretch, but we have to do a better job making our foul shots when we have the opportunities."

Millersville's finish mirrored a nightmarish first half in which they shot 32.1% from the field and 1 of 8 from three, causing them to fall behind 38-21 at the break. But Millersville played brilliantly for the first 15 minutes of the second half, outscoring Shepherd 34-9 with Day Waters scoring 15 of his 21. Millersville's defense active, contesting shots and getting into passing lanes. The Marauders held Shepherd to 4 of 22 shooting with three steals and Shepherd shot just three foul shots in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

"We should have started the game like that," said Stitzel. "The game wasn't lost in the last four minutes, it was lost in the first half. In a division race that is this close, every possessions matters, and in these types of games you can't come out flat."

Weise was the only other Marauder to reach double figures. He scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Neither team shot the ball well, but Shepherd made 19 free throws to Millersville's eight.

Despite the loss, the PSAC East remains up for grabs with four teams within a game of first place. Shepherd is a half-game behind West Chester. Millersville and East Stroudsburg are tied a game back of West Chester. Millersville has four games remaining, closing the regular season at home against West Chester on Feb. 25.

"Consistency is going to be the key the rest of the way," said Stitzel. "We have to be consistent with mindset, focus and effort."