ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus Men's Basketball team was unable to sustain a strong start as they were knocked off by Muhlenberg by a score of 83-77 on Wednesday night in Centennial Conference action.
With the loss, the Bears drop to 12-11 overall and 9-8 in Centennial Conference play. Ursinus now either needs a win against No. 12 Johns Hopkins or a Haverford loss against Dickinson on Saturday to qualify for the Centennial Conference Tournament. Meanwhile, the Mules improved to 9-15 overall and 6-11 in conference action.
Senior Ryan Hughes led the Bears with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed five rebounds along with adding two assists. Freshman Sean Neylon tallied 16 points behind four three-pointers and six rebounds plus three steals. Sophomore Trevor Wall recorded 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals while senior Peyton Vostenak scored 11 points off the bench behind going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Following back and forth action in the first two and a half minutes, the Bears broke a 5-5 tie with a 13-2 run and went up 18-7 at the 15:09-mark of the first half. Ursinus responded to a three-pointer from the Mules with seven-straight points and took their largest lead of the game at 25-10 with 10:52 remaining in the first half. The Bears maintained their lead out to 29-15 at the 8:34-mark following a pair of free throws from Neylon, but the Mules put together a run to end the first half that changed the course of the rest of the game. Muhlenberg closed the first half on a 27-7 run and took a 42-36 advantage into halftime. The Mules went 10-of-14 from the field during that stretch while the Bears went just 3-of-11.
Muhlenberg continued their momentum into the second half as they opened on a quick 8-3 run to take a 50-39 lead at the 18:01-mark. With continued strong shooting, the Mules built a lead by as many as 18 points at 67-49 with 11:08 remaining in the second half. Ursinus made a charge at the Mules lead with a 17-5 run to cut the deficit down to 70-66 at the 7:02-mark. The Bears best chance at completing the comeback came when they made it a two-point game at 76-74 with 2:55 left in regulation following a steal and score from Neylon. The Mules split a pair of free throws on their next possession to go up 77-74 at the 2:02-mark, but the Bears rally ended in the final minute following a Wall turnover that led to a Muhlenberg layup. Ursinus would get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Bears went 31-of-68 (45.6%) from the field and 11-of-29 (37.9%) from beyond the arc. Ursinus shot 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the free throw line and the two teams tied in rebounds with 33 apiece. Meanwhile, the Mules shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the field and went 10-of-21 (47.6%) from three-point range. Muhlenberg went 23-of-35 (65.7%) from the free throw line as well.
Muhlenberg saw four of its five starters score in double-figures, led by Giovanni Rubino with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Rubino added three assists, three steals, and two rebounds while Justin Allen recorded 20 points and six rebounds. Nate Watson added 13 points behind going 3-of-5 from three-point range and Tommy McGuire posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bears wrap up their regular season on Saturday, February 19th at No. 12 Johns Hopkins with a 7 p.m. start.