MARAUDERS RUN INTO HOT-SHOOTING EDINBORO SQUAD; FALL IN PSAC SEMI’S, 74-58

March 7 – The Millersville University men’s basketball team saw their run at back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) titles come to an end Friday evening in a 74-58 loss to Edinboro in the semifinals of the PSAC tournament.

The loss ends the Marauders chance at an automatic bid into the 2008 Division II National Tournament and the Marauders will now have to await their fate this Sunday when the NCAA will choose the participants in this year’s field.  Coverage of the selection show can be seen on NCAA.com, Sunday evening, beginning at 10:30 p.m.

The Marauders ran into a hot-shooting Fighting Scot team that hit 58% (14-24) of its shots in the second half and shot 51% (29-57) from the field for the game.  The Scots were led by four players in double-figures: Ryan McLemore (14), Gerald Warrick (13), Gilmore Cummings (13), and Joseph Jones (11).  McLemore, the nation’s leading shot blocker and record holder for blocks in a season, finished the game with four blocks to go with six rebounds.

Guard Charlie Parker (sr. Fawn Grove, Pa./Kennard-Dale) led the way for the Marauders as he dropped in 15 points to go along with three steals and four rebounds.

Both teams shot well early on with the Marauders taking an early 7-4 advantage behind a pair of layups from forwards RayQuan Miles (sr. Hampton, Va./Phoebus) and Bernard Brown (jr. Harrisburg/Harrisburg) and a three-pointer by guard Reggie Bates (jr. Chicago, Ill./Hubbard).  Brown finished the game with his second straight double-double, dropping in 11 points to go with his game-high 12 rebounds.

The Fighting Scots quickly answered with a 13-0 run that ended at the 13:34 mark and put the West’s number-one seed up ten (17-7).  Cummings drilled back-to-back three-point shots to cap the run that started just over two minutes into the half.

Millersville fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first half before finishing the last 7:23 on a 14-6 run that closed the gap to eight (36-28).  Guard Justin Simmons (so. Willow Grove/Abington) came off the bench to give the Marauders a spark in the first half as he hit on 3-of-4 field goal attempts before the first-half buzzer sounded.  Simmons finished the game with a season-high 12 points.

Millersville carried the first-half momentum into the second frame as they began the half with an 11-2 run that gave the Marauders the lead back (39-38) just over three minutes in.  Guard Cory Bray (fr. Red Lion/Red Lion), Bates and Parker each nailed a three-point shot during the run to give the Marauders their first lead since early in the first half.

After the two teams traded baskets and the lead for several minutes, the Marauders found themselves on the wrong side of a 10-0 run that opened up a 54-44 lead for the Scots with just over ten minutes to play.  Edinboro stretched the lead to 19 (69-50) over the next seven minutes and never looked back en route to their ninth straight win and a trip to the PSAC championship game. 

Edinboro will take on the winner of the other semifinal matchup between Cheyney and California (Pa.) for the rights to the PSAC championship and automatic berth into this year’s national tournament.