A tight affair between two Lehigh Valley teams did not go Muhlenberg's way, as the men's basketball team could not close the gap late in an 82-72 defeat versus DeSales.
 
The two teams battled pretty squarely through most of the game, with the lead changing a total of 12 times. The Mules (5-3) held their biggest advantage in the first half, but it was the Bulldogs (5-3) that pulled away over the final five minutes of the contest.
 
Senior Jon Schreer sank all three of his triples in the first 11 minutes of the game, with his final three putting the Mules up 20-10. Muhlenberg grew its lead to as large as 14 points on a jumper from senior Brandon LaRose.
 
The Bulldogs retook the lead on a layup with three minutes until halftime. The advantage flip-flopped three more times, as a three-pointer from junior Nick Rindock sent the teams into halftime with the Mules up 33-32.
 
Rindock was fouled and sank two free throws to start the second half. A DeSales triple tied the game again, and the two teams exchanged turns in the lead over the next few minutes. A put-back from sophomore Erik Werheim gave Muhlenberg a 45-44 advantage.
 
DeSales took the lead for good on its next score and built a 52-47 lead with 13:25 left. Layups from Schreer and Rindock brought the Mules to within one point, but the home team could not close the deal. Two consecutive triples and a layup put DeSales up by nine with eight minutes to go and the Bulldogs grinded the clock down to keep Muhlenberg at bay the rest of the game.
 
Muhlenberg made a season-best 82.4 percent of its free throws (14-for-17) while outrebounding DeSales 35-32 in the contest. The Mules also won the turnover battle 22-17.
 
LaRose poured in 21 points to lead Muhlenberg, his second-straight 20-point game. The senior drained seven of his 10 shots from the field to go with a perfect six-for-six mark at the charity stripe.

Schreer also scored in double-figures with 15 points and dished out a team-best four assists. He also moved into third place in career three-pointers (157) in the game.

Junior JeanLee Baez (pictured above) led the Mules on the glass with a season-high 10 rebounds to go with five points. Senior John Hunter collected seven rebounds as well to go with seven points.