Wrestling, track and field

Unnamed trio leads women’s hoops

Men Fall Just Short The Muhlenberg men’s basketball team nearly pulled off an upset of 21st-ranked Franklin & Marshall, but came up a point short and lost, 60-59. Neither team led by more than five points in the game, which was tied nine times. The Diplomats held a 59-54 lead with 2:30 remaining, but the Mules scored the next three points, two on a dunk by junior Peter Barnes. Still down two, Muhlenberg (7-6, 3-4) rebounded an F&M miss with about a minute left and had a chance to tie or take the lead, but turned the ball over. The Diplomats (13-1, 6-1) hit one free throw with 46.2 seconds left, and freshman Spencer Liddic was fouled trying to rebound the second. He converted both free throws, making the score 60-59 with 43.7 seconds on the clock. With the game and shot clocks winding down, F&M missed a shot at the other end, but after a flurry at the basket the Mules took possession with only 4 seconds left and could not manage anything more than a desperation shot from halfcourt at the buzzer. Barnes had a huge game, with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Liddic added 15 points and 8 boards, while senior Darrell Roth scored 11 points off the bench. The loss wrapped up a stretch of four home games in eight days for the Mules. Three of the games were decided by three points or fewer. Click here for box score. Click here for complete stats.

Lauren Boyle, Kelly McKeon and Alexandra Chili display great confidence and rarely looked overmatched on the basketball court, but for once, following a 64-51 win over Franklin & Marshall by their Muhlenberg women’s basketball team, they didn’t have any answers.

After combining for 50 of the Mules’ 64 points, 11 of their 12 assists and even more than half of their 39 rebounds, the members of the backcourt

Boyle played 36 minutes without committing a turnover. The Mules had only seven turnovers in the game.

threesome were asked to come up with a nickname for themselves.

“Right now??” asked Boyle.

“I’m not very good at those things,” said Chili.

“Oh man, this is hard,” muttered McKeon.

Not nearly as hard as guarding them. The Three – Whatevers – are all averaging in double figures and have deservedly received their share of attention, but rarely have they dominated the stats as much as they did against the Diplomats.

Boyle scored a game-high 19 points, McKeon totaled 17 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, and Chili chipped in with 14 points and 4 assists.

“They’re awesome,” said junior Maiza Mock. “It would be pretty hard to get along without them.”

Even with them, Muhlenberg (11-2, 8-0) struggled in the first half, shooting just 29 percent and scoring only six points after taking a 15-6 lead at the 9:53 mark. The Mules went into the locker room down a point, 22-21.

But as they have done several times this year, the Mules came alive in the second half, shooting 53 percent and scoring 43 points.

“We usually start slow,” said Mock. “Once we started hitting our shots we did okay. If we stick to the offense, we’ll be fine.”

As usual, The – Something – Trio led the way. Every Muhlenberg field goal in the second half was either scored or assisted by one of the three.

F&M (6-8, 4-4) led 28-27 before the Mules went on an 11-2 run to open up an eight-point lead, and the Diplomats never get closer than six. McKeon had four points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal during the run.

Mock also had a big game, providing a spark off the bench by scoring five points and pulling down a career-high seven rebounds. “That’s what I’m in there for,” she said.
Click here for box score.
Click here for complete stats.