Men's Basketball Championship Homepage

Release courtesy of Muhlenberg Athletic Communications

The Muhlenberg men's basketball team led from start to finish in defeating Washington, 84-72, in the first round of the Centennial Conference playoffs.

The Mules (19-7) advance to play top-ranked Swarthmore, the only undefeated men's team in the NCAA, in a semifinal game on Saturday night.

Senior Matt Gnias scored 18 points to become the 36th 1000-point scorer in program history. Entering the game with 994 career points, he surpassed the milestone on a driving layup less than five minutes into the game.

Sophomore Dan Gaines finished with a game-high 21 points to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds. Sophomore Dallas Hoffman (14 points, 4-of-6 three-point shooting) and junior Michael Morreale (10 points) also scored in double figures.

The 84 points matched the most scored by Muhlenberg in a postseason game in 22 years. The Mules also reached the 19-win mark for the first time in 18 seasons.

The basket that gave Gnias (pictured above) his milestone also gave Muhlenberg an early 12-2 lead. The Shoremen (10-16) crept to within three, at 15-12, three minutes later, but could not keep pace with the Mules' hot shooting.

Muhlenberg went 6-for-9 from three-point range in the first half and built its lead to as many as 18 points.

The spread was 16 at halftime, and although Washington made a few mini-runs in the second half, the Mules never let the lead slip below 11.