COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Ursinus freshman forward Jon Ward
(Allentown, Pa./Parkland) had a gaeme-high 25 points as
the Bears (15-10, 11-7 Centennial) defeated Muhlenberg (12-12, 10-8
Centennial) 89-83 in overtime in a tightly-contested men's
basketball game on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday in Collegeville in the
first round, as Washington locked up the third seed with a last
second win over Johns Hopkins earlier in the day.
For Ursinus, junior guard Matt Hilton (Lewistown,
Pa./Lewistown Area) had 22 points, while senior
Keith Page (Manchester, England/Blair Academy) had
15 points.
The Bears played most of the game without senior guard Remy
Cousart (Philadelphia, Pa./Holy Ghost) who was sidelined
due to an injury. He did, in Willis Reed type fashion, make an
appearance in the second half for 11 minutes. He did hand out three
assists.
In his place, freshman point guard Matt Donahue
(Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity School) and senior guard
Kevin McGarvey (Lower Gwynedd, Pa./Penn Charter)
filled in nicely. As Donahue scored 12, while McGarvey provided
tough defense. Cousart, McGarvey and Page were all piaying in the
final regular season home game Saturday.
For Muhlenberg, Spencer Liddic and Evan Tozer each had a team-high
20 points, while Brian Frankoski chipped in with 18.
The two teams combined for 55 fouls and 82 foul shot attempts in
the game. Ursinus was 13-for-14 from the foul line in the extra
frame, while Muhlenberg was 5-for-10.
Trailing by two with 18 seconds left, Muhlenberg tied the game on a
jumper by Frankoski. Ursinus' last shot of regulation, a layup by
Cousart, missed sending the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Ursinus never trailed and outscored the
Mules 9-2 over the first 2:32. Muhlenberg would only get as close
as four points three times the rest of the way.
Ursinus led 36-30 at intermission and saw Muhlenberg take its
biggest lead in the second half with 4:17 to go on a three-pointer
by Tozer.
Muhlenberg had a 47-36 lead on the glass, with Liddic grabbing 11
rebounds. Ward, who was 13-for-15 from the line on the day, had
seven rebounds for Ursinus.