When Fred Thompson harped on his team last week about playing better defense, even he could not have anticipated a response like this.

Sunday afternoon, his Marauders turned in their best defensive effort in the last 62 years during a 72-34, nonconference thrashing of University of the Sciences at Pucillo Gym.

It was the fewest points allowed by a Millersville men's basketball team since a 59-34 win over Mansfield late in the 1949-50 season.

"We really focused on defense this last week," said Marauder center Elijah Obade, who had nine points and eight rebounds. "I feel like we really put it together. Everything worked out for the better for us today."

Perhaps making the lopsided win even more impressive was it came against the Devils, who a day earlier had beaten East Stroudsburg (68-53), the defending PSAC championship and preseason favorite to win the PSAC East.

"They won a big game (Saturday), beating a nationally ranked team," said Thompson. "We felt they were going to come in here more motivated. Apparently they had a letdown, but I think we had a lot to do with that."

The Marauders limited Sciences (1-3) to only 10 field goals, on 10 of 45 shooting, and forced 21 turnovers. They also held Garret Kerr, the Devils' leading scorer, to only five points. He scored 28 in the win over East Stroudsburg.

Up 17-5 at the midway point of the first half, MU (2-2) went on a 19-11 run to close out the half and take a 33-16 lead into the break.

Sparked by Larry Grant, the Marauders opened the second half with an 11-0 run, pushing the lead to 44-16 with 17:52 to play.

During the run, Grant scored nine of his game-high 15 points. Xavier Mumford came off the Marauders bench to post career highs in points (14) and rebounds (nine).

"We were a little more patient on offense, got some good shots and didn't have a ton of turnovers," said Thompson. "We were able to control the tempo, especially defensively."

Millersville held the starting five for Sciences to nine points and a 2-for-24 shooting performance.

The Marauder offense, meanwhile, shot 51 percent from the floor, including a 10-for-22 clip from beyond the arc. They eventually built their lead to 41 points, with 1:24 left.

"We defended very well," said Thompson. "These guys need to believe that if we play lockdown defense like we did today, we'll be a tough team to play against this year."