The Muhlenberg men’s basketball team came together at just the right time. The Mules won five of their last seven regular-season games, losing two on buzzer-beaters, and qualified for the Centennial Conference

O’Brien, the Scotty Wood Tournament MVP, was in the Mules’ top three in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals each of his final three seasons.

playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The Mules’ biggest challenge may have came when junior Jeff Stewart – the CC’s scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking champion – went down against Dickinson in the second-to-last game. After dominating in the first half, Muhlenberg watched a last-second three-pointer fall for the Red Devils.

That put Muhlenberg in a must-win situation if it was to advance to the postseason. The task was daunting. The Mules had to defeat Ursinus, the regular-season CC champion, without the aid of Stewart.

The Mules rose to the occasion as junior Tom Scott recorded a season-high 27 points and Muhlenberg downed the Bears, 74-70, to earn the fifth and final playoff spot. The win also was the 12th at home for Muhlenberg, tying for the most in 60 years.

Muhlenberg traveled to the fourth seed, Washington, and continued its season-long struggle on the road, falling 85-79, to finish with a record of 14-12.

Stewart, a first-team All-CC and second-team All-Mid-Atlantic selection,

Stewart became the 31st player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau and moved into ninth on the Mules’ career list with 1,345 points.

became the first player to lead the conference in scoring (19.3 per game), rebounding (10.1 per game) and blocked shots (2.04 per game) since the CC’s inaugural year.

Muhlenberg featured just one senior. Jimmy O’Brien, who received All-CC honorable mention, finished first on the team in assists (71), second in rebounding (5.8 per game), field-goal percentage (.519) and steals (38) and tied for third in scoring (11.2 per game).

The Mules also received contributions from junior Chris Huber, who stepped into the lineup and sparked the team from beyond the arc. He was second in the CC in threes per game (2.42) and tied two school records: three-point shooting percentage in a game (1.000) after he went 5-for-5 against Gettysburg and three-pointers in a game (eight) versus Dickinson. Huber was second in scoring with 12 points per game. Scott finished third on the team in scoring (11.2 points per game) and rebounding (4.2 per game).