ALLENTOWN, Pa - For just the third time this season, the Ursinus College men's basketball team (8-6, 3-4 CC) were held under 65 points, losing to Muhlenberg, 78-64. With three teams clogged at 3-3 in Centennial Conference action and battling early for the fourth spot, the Bears had a chance to steal a win on the road against the Mules before playing back-to-back ranked opponents in the coming week. However, after a tight first half, the Mules pulled away with 45 second-half points.
The Bears were held to 44.1% shooting and only converted on four shots from beyond the arc which marks their second-fewest of the season. The team is 6-0 this season when they make six or more threes and shoot above 50%.
Ursinus fell behind 15-6 right out of the gates, but a pair of makes from George Gordon and Peyton Vostenak brought the score back within two at 16-14. Muhlenberg extended its lead back up to nine before the Bears again rallied back with an 8-2 run capped off by a Ryan Hughes trey. The Mules ended the half on a 7-0 run of their own as Ursinus went into the half trailing, 33-27.
Just like the opening half, it was the Mules who came out making shots in the second to take an immediate double-digit lead. The Bears tried to put together runs early to come back, coming as close as seven after a pair of Ryan McTamney free throws, however, Muhlenberg kept its distance. The Mules went up by 10 with 11:40 to play and would keep its lead at double-digits the rest of the way as the Bears fell, 78-64.
McTamney led the Bears scoring with 17 points with Ryan Hughes right behind him with 16. Bruce Edwards was two rebounds shy of a double-double as he tallied 11 points to go with eight boards.
The Bears continue their three-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to play No. 15 Johns Hopkins before capping it off next Wednesday with a re-match against No. 1 Swarthmore.