COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Ursinus stayed alive for a share of the Centennial Conference crown, as the Bears defeated Muhlenberg, 24-10, Saturday afternoon at Patterson Field.

The win marked the first victory for the Bears (5-4, 5-2 Centennial) over the Mules (2-7, 1-6 Centennial) in nine years.

Ursinus was outgained 267-181 in the victory, but, forced four turnovers to grab five wins in Centennial Conference play for the first time since 2007.

With the victory, the Bears are one-game behind both Dickinson and Johns Hopkins heading into the final week. The Bears will take on Dickinson next Saturday at Biddle Field, while Hopkins will take on McDaniel.

Back to Saturday’s game, Ursinus got a touchdown from freshman running back Teddy Conrad (Doylestown, Pa./C.B. West), and a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge).

Conrad rushed for 46 yards on 16 carries, while Decristofaro threw for 115 yards on 7-for-19 passing.

Sophomore wide receiver Al Desiderio (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) had four catches for 88 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown pass from Decristofaro in the third quarter for the only scoring in the second half.

For Muhlenberg, senior running back Codie Bender had 40 yards on 12 carries. Freshman quarterback Dan Deighan had 198 yards on 15-for-30 passing. Senior wide receiver Phil Cresta caught a game-high 12 passes for 196 yards.

Defensively, junior linebacker Patrick McDonough had a team-high eight tackles, while sophomore defensive back Joe Henry (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) had eight stops for Ursinus.

The Ursinus defensive unit had 14 tackles for losses of 43 yards in the win.

Ursinus got on the board first as sophomore kicker Keith Baker (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) converted a 26-yard field goal with 2:08 left in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead. The score was set up by an interception by freshman cornerback Chris Rountree (Lawnside, N.J./Haddon Heights).

At the start of the second quarter, Muhlenberg tied the score at 3-all when junior kicker Michael Katz converted a 22-yard field goal with 14:55 to go in the half.

Ursinus’ next score, a 3-yard touchdown run by Conrad, came with 11:33 left to go in the second. The score was set up by a Muhlenberg fumble when freshman running back Terrence Dandridge fumbled at the Muhlenberg 5-yard line, which was recovered by senior defensive end Chas Cathers (Fountainville, Pa./C.B. West).

On the next drive, Muhlenberg tied the score at 10-all when Dandridge capped a six-play, 50 yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 7:31 left.

Dandridge would fumble on Muhlenberg’s next possession, which was recovered by junior defensive back Shane Whalen (Landenberg, Pa./Avon Grove) who then went 10-yards for the score with 5:23 left for a 17-10 lead.

The final score came following a fumble recovery at the Muhlenberg 36 yard line with 13:11 left. On the next play, Decristofaro threw a 36-yard pass to Desiderio for a 24-10 lead with 13:00 left.

Ursinus had another chance to score, but, Decristofaro’s pass with 8:36 left was intercepted by senior cornerback Cameron Ahouse at the Muhlenberg 1-yard line.

Muhlenberg then went 91 yards, but, was stopped at fourth-and-4 from the Ursinus 8-yard line on an incomplete pass.

Ahouse would rack up his second interception of the quarter with 1:02 left, as he picked off Decristofaro at the Ursinus 40-yard line.

Muhlenberg got into the red zone one last time in the fourth quarter, but, was stopped by on the Ursinus 8-yard line with 3:27 left. Ursinus then ran out the clock.

Muhlenberg had the ball for 32 minutes, and held Ursinus to just seven first downs.