men’s basketball loses heartbreaker

The Muhlenberg men’s basketball team came close to its second road win against a regionally ranked team in three days, but DeSales came alive down the stretch for a 59-57 win.

The Mules (12-9) won at Gettysburg, ranked eighth in the Middle Atlantic Region, on Saturday. DeSales (18-3) came into this game ranked third in the region, and likely to move up to No. 2 when the new rankings come out on Wednesday.

A game between the team ranked fifth in Division III in scoring defense (DeSales at 58.9 points per game) and one ranked third in Division III in field-goal percentage defense (Muhlenberg at .379) was predictably close and low-scoring. Each team managed an eight-point lead in the first half, but the second half was tighter.

The Mules appeared to be pulling away when they opened up a seven-point lead with 6:28 left. An exchange of baskets left Muhlenberg with a seven-point lead with 5:10 on the clock, but the Bulldogs closed out the game with an 11-2 run.

DeSales took a 57-55 lead on a tough three-pointer with the shot clock running down and 1:05 to play. Mule senior Chris MacIntosh tied the score on a floater in the lane with 39 seconds to play.

The Bulldogs scored the winning basket on a driving layup with 8.5 seconds left, and Muhlenberg could not get off a shot before the final buzzer.

Senior Mike Bernardini (right) scored a team-high 12 points, including eight in a 16-3 first-half run that turned a 17-9 deficit into a 25-20 lead.
Click here for box score.
Click here for complete stats.