PREVIEW: Millersville seeks offensive spark against Kutztown

Wednesday, January 21

Millersville, PA

7:30 PM

Millersville University

Kutztown

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PREVIEW: Millersville seeks offensive spark against Kutztown

1/20/2026 12:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

Countdown to Gameday

Millersville Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball

vs Kutztown

Jan 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM

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ABOUT THE GAME

Millersville hosts Kutztown Wednesday looking to snap out of a rough offensive patch that has seen the team shoot under 40% in back-to-back games for the first time since the start of the 2022-23 season. Getting back on track against Kutztown won’t be easy as the Golden Bears rank fourth in the PSAC in scoring defense, allowing 73.4 points per game, and rank first in opponent field goal percentage at 41.1%. Kutztown has limited four of its last five opponents to 65 points or fewer. The good news for Millersville is that Kutztown is winless (0-6) on the road. Historically, Millersville has been a significantly better offensive performer at home than on the road. That isn’t the case in 2025-26. Millersville is averaging 80 points per game on shooting split of .451/.290/.744 at home compared to 85.6 points per game with a split of .510/.348/.832 in eight road games. Day Waters averages 22.1 points per game on the road and 17.4 points per game at home. Since Dec. 16--a span of 10 games, Millersville has shot 29.5% from 3-point range, making fewer than 30% in six of the games. After scoring 82 or more in eight of the first nine games of the season, Millersville has topped 82 just twice in the last eight games. The Marauders have averaged 73.6 points per game in five games against the PSAC East. The bright spot is that the Marauders have held those five PSAC East teams to 70.4 points per game, 41.9% shooting and 27.9% shooting from three.

MBB: Blink and you miss it! Aamir has our first 12 points of the second half! pic.twitter.com/GITph6a7ap
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) January 17, 2026

Day Waters has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, but while his shooting percentages have slumped lately, his rebounding and defensive numbers have improved. Against Lock Haven, Waters matched a career-high with 10 rebounds and handed out a season-high four assists. The game before that, against Shepherd, he blocked a career-high three shots. Waters has recorded at least one steal in six of the last seven games.
Cesar Tchilombo has 34 rebounds in the last three games, moving him up to fourth in the PSAC in rebounding average at 8.9 per game. Millersville is 6-1 when Tchilombo grabs 10 or more rebounds.
Rebounding and defense are the two constant determining factors to Millersville’s success. The Marauders are 7-1 when out-rebounding its opponent and 6-0 when holding teams to fewer than 70 points. The Marauders also win at a high rate when controlling the paint as they are 10-2 when scoring more points in the paint and 9-1 when holding advantage in second-chance points.
Kutztown brings some familiar faces to Pucillo as Jordan Nkoa Abessollo and Tobi Ogunbare both started their careers at Millersville. Nkoa Abessolo ranks second on the team in scoring and averages a double-double of 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He ranks second in the PSAC in rebounding. Ogunbare has started 10 games and averages 4.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Kutztown endured a six-game losing streak from Dec. 5-Jan. 3, but has since won three of the last five. Jalen Bryant is a two-time All-PSAC East selection and scored 27 points in the Jan. 18 game against Millersville last season.

SERIES HISTORY

The Millersville-Kutztown rivalry goes back to 1904, and Millersville has played no opponent more than Kutztown. Wednesday marks the 225th meeting between the teams, and aside from a gap from 1940-1945, Millersville have met at least once each season since 1904-05. Millersville has won the last five and seven of the last eight meetings. Since the 2019-20 season, Kutztown has scored more than 78 points just once against the Marauders, and that was an 89-88 win at Pucillo Gymnasium on Jan. 11, 2023. Millersville has won the last five games by an average margin of 18.6 points per game, and scored 88 or more points in five of the last six. Last season, Saraj Ali grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in a 73-60 win at home, and Montell Cooper and Drew Stover both topped 20 points in the 93-78 road win on Jan. 18.