The Muhlenberg men's basketball team came back from a seven-point deficit to take the lead in the second half, but a subsequent dry spell proved costly in a 65-59 loss to Juniata in the first round of the Scotty Wood Tournament.

The Mules (1-2) trailed for almost the entire first half and were down 26-19 at the four-minute mark before closing to within four points at the break. 

Sophomore Michael Morreale drove in for a dunk to open the second-half scoring, and freshman Dallas Hoffman followed with a three-pointer to put Muhlenberg on top at 29-28.

The Mules had their biggest lead, 51-46, midway through the half after a tipin by senior Erik Werheim, but the Eagles (1-1) went on a 15-0 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game.

Hoffman finished with a career-high 21 points on the strength of five three-pointers. Morreale narrowly missed a double-double with 9 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

Freshman Dan Gaines (pictured above) had game highs of 6 assists and 4 steals.

Wittenberg defeated Goucher, 65-51, in the other first-round game.