DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team closed out the calendar year on a high note, getting back on track with a slump-busting 70-48 rout of Edgewood in its second and final appearance at the Land of Magic Classic.
Three different players hit double figures for the Bears (6-5), who returned to their usual 3-point prowess to snap a four-game losing streak and conclude non-conference play with a bang. After going a meager 15 for 73 (20.5 percent) from beyond the arc during the skid, Ursinus was 10 for 18 (55.6 percent) on Friday, including a 6-of-9 showing that helped it pull away in the first half. On the other end, the Bears limited the Eagles (2-8) to 2 for 19 (10.5 percent) from 3-point land and just 17 for 57 overall (29.8 percent).
Senior Matt Knowles scored 10 of his game-high 14 points in the opening period, junior Zach Quattro produced 13 points, and sophomore Eric Williams Jr. drained three triples en route to an 11-point outing.
Leading 8-7 early, sophomore Zack Muredda keyed a quick 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and jumper, and senior Patrick Mekongo's lay-up opened up a double-digit lead at 22-12 with 7:45 to play in the first half. The Bears went into the break armed with a 35-21 advantage and gradually added to it, leading by as many as 28 points with exactly four minutes left on the clock. Eric Williams ignited a 15-4 run with a triple that made it 42-25, and freshman Shane Stark put the exclamation point on the spurt with a three-point play to supply a 25-point bulge at the 12:26 mark.
Knowles added four assists, three rebounds, and two steals to his stat line, while sophomore Matt Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points. Junior Remi Janicot secured a team-best six rebounds in addition to a season-high four assists, and sophomore Matt Margolis buried a trey late in the second half for his first points of the year.
Edgewood's 48 points were the fewest by an Ursinus opponent this season, and the lowest output since a 57-43 victory at Muhlenberg on January 27.
The men's basketball team gets back to Centennial Conference play against Johns Hopkins on Saturday, January 7.