The Muhlenberg men's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished control in defeating Dickinson 72-58.
 
The Mules (10-7, 5-6 CC) scored the first 10 points of the game and held the Red Devils (9-9, 6-5 CC) to a 20 percent shooting clip in the first half. Muhlenberg took a 17-point advantage into halftime and did not allow their lead to drop to lower than six points the rest of the way.
 
Three players scored in double figures for Muhlenberg, with senior Brandon LaRose netting a game-high 17 points while also leading Muhlenberg with eight rebounds and four assists. Senior Jon Schreer added 15 points and junior Owen McLeod dropped 12 points coming off the bench.
 
Muhlenberg did not allow Dickinson a made field goal for the first 9:41 of the game and increased its lead to as many as 20 points when LaRose (pictured above) found junior JeanLee Baez with an inside feed for a layup to make it 28-8.
 
Trailing 37-20 in the second half, the Red Devils made a 13-2 run that cut the Mules' lead to six with 11:42 to play. Muhlenberg quashed a comeback threat though by going on an 8-0 run with three straight points from sophomore Erik Werheim and five by McLeod giving the home team a 47-33 advantage.
 
Over the final five minutes of the game, both teams combined to attempt 26 free throws, with the Mules making 14 of their 16 attempts in that span to help close out the game.
 
The Mules played a strong defensive game throughout, with the Red Devils shooting 29.5 percent from the field and 24 percent from deep, both below their season averages of 44 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from three-point range. Muhlenberg also outrebounded Dickinson 42-35, with a 32-22 advantage on the defensive boards.
 
With the win, Muhlenberg achieved the 10-win mark for the 34th time in the program's last 35 seasons.