COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Fifth-seeded Muhlenberg put five players in double figures on Wednesday night, propelling the Mules (13-13) to an 84-69 win over Ursinus (15-11) in the first round of the Centennial Conference men's basketball playoffs at Ursinus.
The win, Muhlenberg's first road playoff victory since 2001, put
the Mules in Saturday's semifinal against top-seed Franklin &
Marshall.
The Mules never trailed and went up by as much as 20 points in
the second half.
For Muhlenberg, junior guard Evan Tozer had 17 points, while senior
guard Ryan Foster added in 16. The Mules also benefited from a
39-26 lead on the glass, including 12 offensive rebounds to five
for Ursinus.
Junior guard Matt Hilton (Lewistown, Pa./Lewistown
Area) had a game-high 17 points for Ursinus, while senior
guard Keith Page (Manchester, England/Blair
Academy) added in 16 in his final game for the Bears.
Senior guard Kevin McGarvey (Lower Gwynedd, Pa./Penn
Charter) scored 12.
Senior guard Remy Cousart (Philadelphia, Pa./Holy Ghost
Prep) finished his career with six points, six assists and
eight rebounds.
Muhlenberg used the three-pointer to its advantage as well,
shooting 50 percent (9-for-18) from behind the three-point line.
The Mules finished the game 50.9 percent (28-for-55) from the
field.
The closest the Bears got to the lead, aside from two ties in the first five minutes, was 17-16 with 7:53 left on a jumper by Page. The Mules then outscored the Bears 11-2 over the next 1:49 and were never threatened.
Sophomore forward Spencer Liddic had 11 rebounds for the Mules.