Millersville University
20-8,15-6PSAC
West Chester
20-7,14-6PSAC
Seniors shine as Marauders clinch share of PSAC East with OT win over West Chester
2/25/2026 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Day Waters' lights-out shooting shouldered the load early, Saraj Ali, playing with four fouls, carried his team down the stretch to force overtime, and Aamir Hurst took over in overtime. Millersville's trio of seniors created a Senior Night to remember as the Marauders outlasted rival West Chester 82-76 to clinch a share of the PSAC East title for the third time in five years.
Waters scored 25 points, hitting 9 of 14 shots and 4 of 6 from three. Ali, limited to two points and six minutes in the first half, scored 16 in the second half and blocked three shots, and his 1-on-1 drive through contact knotted the game at 70 with eight seconds remaining in regulation. Hurst scored 21 points, including Millersville's first seven points in the overtime session.
It was cool to see those seniors carry us home, said Millersville head coach Casey Stitzel. A month ago, we never would have won that game, but I saw a lot of resilience from our guys.
With so much familiarity between the teams, there was precious little operating space for either offense. Millersville, ranked No. 1 in the PSAC in field goal percentage defense, stifled West Chester into 26.5% shooting.
It's taken us a couple of months to figure out what it takes defensively to be in the game when you only score 24 points in the first half. It's as good a defensive team as we've had, especially when you've got the bigs to block shots. Credit Dexter Harris. He brought an idea to me in the fall about hard hedging ball screens, and it's been a game-changer. We throw so much length at them. We did a great job on Ruben Rodriguez. It doesn't matter how big or how little the game is, if you play defense like that, with the way our culture is coming along, we'll be a tough out in the next week.
It was only 32 offensive rebounds, 36 seconds chance points and 34 free throws that kept the Golden Rams in the game. Physicality turned into a combined 89 free throw attempts and 64 foul calls. Ali, Cesar Tchilombo and Dante Weise all fouled out of the game, and three other Marauders finished with four fouls. Seven Golden Rams totaled at least four fouls.
The foul trouble created opportunities for other Marauders to rise to the occasion. Freshmen Jase Holland and Carnell Henderson played a crucial role in overtime. Holland blocked three shots in 15 minutes. Henderson, who struggled from the field and from the line early in the game and sat for most of the second half, grabbed back-to-back defensive rebounds in the final minute of overtime, and deftly swished two free throws with 22 seconds remaining, pushing Millersville's lead from three to five points.
How about two freshmen being out there at the end? said Stitzel. A lot of my assistants would say that I'm allergic to freshmen. It's been a long time coming that two freshmen have impacted a game that big. Carnell's foul shots were huge. Jase being in there, his defense. Big.
Millersville led for more than 37 minutes of the 40 minutes, and Ali's 15-foot jumper from the left elbow gave the Marauders a 68-60 lead with 1:24 remaining in regulation. West Chester, aided by two Millersville turnovers and two missed free throws quickly closed the gap, and a Dinari Boykin steal led to Anthony McCall sinking two free throws to put West Chester up 70-68 with just 18 seconds remaining. Stitzel went right back to Ali who drove hard to his right, stopped on a dime, lost his defender, and scored at the rim with eight seconds to go.
I don't know if Saraj could have done that a month ago, but his resilience tonight was a huge step for him as a person and as a basketball player, said Stitzel. He did a great job on (Anthony) McCall) even with four fouls. I'm super proud of him, making that two to tie the game. He'll make the foul shot going forward. But he fought some foul trouble, but at the end of the day, he got us going.
Ali could not convert the and-one opportunity, and Dylan Blair's contested 3-pointer from the right wing missed, sending the game into an extra session.
On the first possession of overtime, Ali swiped the ball away from McCall, and at the other end, Hurst drilled his one and only 3-pointer from the top of the key. Hurst made four consecutive free throws before Waters' answered a McCall three with an ice-cold jumper, giving Millersville a 79-76 lead. From there, it was all up to the defense. Millersville held West Chester scoreless on four shot attempts in the final two minutes.
Day got us going, but I thought Aamir, with his offense and defense, free throws at the end, I thought he was the MVP of the game, said Stitzel. That's as good of a game as he's played since he's been at Millersville. We are always on him about his decision making and his decisions in overtime, he made every right decision and did it while guarding one of West Chester's best guards.
The all-time series record between Millersville and West Chester stood at 107-107 entering the night. It was only fitting that game was tied 24-24 at the half and 46-point second halves from both teams sent the game into overtime. Millersville has now won 10 of the last 13, six of the last seven and seven in a row at home over West Chester.
The win gave Millersville (20-8, 15-6) a season sweep of West Chester (20-7, 14-6), and its 20th win for the third time in five seasons. Millersville now has to become West Chester fans. The Marauders will claim the No. 1 seed in the PSAC Tournament with a West Chester win at home against East Stroudsburg. An East Stroudsburg win likely results in a No. 3 seed.
To be PSAC East co-champs for the third time in five years, it shows a lot of what the former players, former staff and it means a lot for this group to get a banner, said Stitzel. From where we started 10 years ago to where we are now is a humbling experience as a coach.
