It was déjà vu all over again.

For the second year in a row, the Muhlenberg men’s basketball team upset Ursinus in its final regular-season game to nab the fifth and final spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs.

The Mules connected on all six of their free throw attempts in the final

Scott received All-CC honorable mention and was named to the CC Academic Honor Roll. He finished his career with 911 points.

24 seconds of the game to hold off a Bears comeback and win, 76-68. Tom Scott – one of the team’s seven seniors – stepped it up in that game and made sure it wasn’t the last of his career. He led the Mules with 25 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. He also drew two charges.

Although Muhlenberg lost to Gettysburg in the first round of the CC tournament to finish at 10-15, the season was a memorable one nonetheless, a rollercoaster ride that saw the team follow up an eight-game losing skid with a five-game winning streak.

The Mules started off with a 4-3 record and advanced to the Scotty Wood championship game for the third straight year, with Scott and fellow senior Justin Fields making the all-tournament team.

Following a 109-105 loss to New Jersey in triple overtime, however, Muhlenberg lost 10 of its next 11 games. Even the one win didn’t come easy, as the Mules fell behind Gettysburg by six at halftime and needed overtime to secure the victory.

Once February rolled around, a whole new Mules team came to play, and together they pulled out five straight wins to close out the regular season.

The turnaround began when the Mules hosted Franklin & Marshall – the same team that had started their eight-game winless streak nearly a month earlier – and found themselves down by 14 at halftime. The Diplomats increased their lead to as many as 18 with 18:19 to go in the final

Huber ended his career fourth in team history with 121 three-pointers. Classmate Chris Pothering also went over the century mark in threes during the season, finishing with 102.

period, but Muhlenberg decided it was tired of losing and roared back, much to the delight of the nearly two dozen former Mules in attendance who returned to play in the alumni game. Muhlenberg took a one-point lead on two free throws by senior Jimmie Riggins with 6:07 to go and scored the winning points when Scott hit two free throws with 2.2 seconds left.

The 71-69 victory was followed by wins against Swarthmore, McDaniel (by one point) and Dickinson (in overtime) as the Mules pushed their way back into the playoff picture heading into the game at Ursinus, which had beaten Muhlenberg by 40 points in the first meeting.

Scott carried the team late in the season, averaging 20.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in the last six contests. His performances earned him back-to-back CC player of the week honors.

Scott wasn’t the only one to play well during that stretch, however, as six other players scored in double figures at least once. Sophomore Mike Bernardini seemed to make up for the five games he missed due to injury earlier in the season and scored at least 10 points in each of the wins. He even notched a career-high 28 points against Dickinson.

The Mules graduated a senior class that played a large role in the team’s success. Scott led the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game, and Chris Huber was close behind with 11.0 ppg. Huber was also the team’s leading three-point shooter, making 50 long-range shots. Riggins, meanwhile, commanded the boards and pulled down 6.0 points per game, and Brandon Mefford piloted both ends of the floor, leading the team in assists (69) and steals (23).