MIKE GROSS | Sports Writer
Gannon looked very much like the No. 3 team in the country in routing Millersville 98-64 Saturday in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs in Erie.
The Marauders (24-6) lick wounds and prepare for the NCAA Division II tournament, while Gannon preps to play for the conference title, and an automatic NCAA berth it surely doesn’t need, in Sunday’s final.
Gannon (28-2) is an up-tempo bunch that leads DII is scoring at 103 points per game. The Golden Knights made the first seven three-pointers they tried Saturday, five of them before the first media time-out.
Millersville beat Gannon 98-77 in December at Pucillo Gym.
“Right now, we are a completely different team on the road,’’ said MU coach Casey Stitzel. “If you flip this game, and put it in Pucillo, who knows? We are really struggling with communicating on defense and with adversity on the road. We don't have the same confidence on the road."
For the game, Gannon shot 61 percent from the field and 57 percent (12 of 21) from the three-point arc. MU made 19 of 58 shots, nine of 27 threes.
Matt Dade led the Marauders with 23 points and eight rebounds. Drew Stover scored 14, on seven-of-nine shooting, with 10 rebounds, six of them offensive boards.
Millersville will find out what’s next when the NCAA announces tournaments bids at 11 p.m. Sunday. The DII regionals will be played March 16-19.
“It's all about how we approach the week,’’ Stitzel said. “We can be thrilled to be in the NCAA Tournament and have another chance to play, and maybe have another chance to play Gannon, or this loss will stay all next week and we won't have that same path. I like to think we take route one, and if we do, we can play a lot better than this.’’
