COLLEGEVILLE – A strong second half helped power the Ursinus Men's Basketball team past Dickinson by a score of 94-79 on Tuesday night at Helfferich Hall in Centennial Conference play.
With the win, the Bears improved to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in Centennial Conference play. Meanwhile, the Red Devils fall to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in Centennial action.
Senior Ryan Hughes poured in a season-high 25 points to pace the Bears offense and added seven rebounds along with four assists. Freshman Sean Neylon recorded 20 points behind going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc while senior Peyton Vostenak posted 14 points after going 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 in the second half off the bench. Sophomore Beau Everett registered a career-high 11 points and grabbed three rebounds along with three assists off the bench.
Dickinson jumped out to an early 8-5 lead on the Bears after making its first four shot attempts. Both teams continued to stay hot from the field early in the contest, but it was the Red Devils that maintained the lead as they went up 14-9 at the 16:26-mark of the first half. Ursinus was able to take back the lead at 18-16 with 13:16 remaining in the first half after a 9-2 run behind going 4-of-5 from the field in that stretch. The Red Devils responded by taking their largest lead of the game at 26-20 with 9:51 remaining in the first half after reeling off eight-straight points. Ursinus countered with a 12-2 run of their own to take a 32-28 advantage at the 5:28-mark of the first half, capped by a three-pointer from junior Kyle Maurer. The Bears were unable to grow its lead past four points for the remainder of the first half and the Red Devils pulled ahead at 46-44 into halftime following a three-pointer with 13 seconds left.
The Bears opened the second half on a 20-2 run in the span of 5:15 to take a commanding 64-48 lead at the 14:45-mark. Ursinus went a scorching 9-of-10 from the field during that stretch while the Red Devils went 1-of-5 and had five turnovers. Timely baskets and improved defense helped the Bears maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. Dickinson made its strongest run at the Ursinus lead with an 10-2 run to cut the deficit down to 78-70 with 6:57 remaining in regulation after trailing 76-60. Neylon slammed the door on the rally with a three-pointer on the Bears following possession and Vostenak made a three-pointer of his own to put Ursinus up 84-72 at the 6:16-mark. Vostenak's three-pointer put the Bears lead back in double-digits for good as they cruised the rest of the way to earn the win.
Ursinus shot 55.9 percent (33-of-59) from the field after shooting a sizzling 66.7 percent (16-of-24) in the second half. The Bears went 8-of-20 (40%) from beyond the arc behind going 5-of-7 in the second half and a solid 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line. Ursinus held a 37-29 rebounding advantage that led to a 12-5 edge in second chance points. Meanwhile, the Red Devils shot 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field but just 8-of-31 (25.8%) from three-point range. Dickinson went a strong 17-of-19 (89.5%) from the free throw line and forced 17 Bears turnovers.
Anthony Goeb led the Red Devils with a game-high 28 points behind going 7-of-13 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Andrew Gostovich added 14 points off the bench along with three rebounds. Dickinson leading scorer Ryan Robinson was held to just eight points on the night while grabbing five rebounds and three steals.
The Bears return to action on Thursday, January 13th as they will travel to face Haverford at 8 p.m. in Centennial Conference play.