The Muhlenberg men's basketball team fell victim to a second-half surge from Ursinus in an 86-59 defeat on the road.
 
Despite the final score, the Mules (12-11, 7-10 CC) provided a tough battle for the Bears (14-10, 11-6 CC) for the first 32 minutes of the contest. Muhlenberg held its largest lead early in the first half but fell behind in the second half. A baseline jumper from senior John Hunter cut the deficit down to three with less than nine minutes left, but Ursinus then went on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes to put the game out of reach.
 
Junior Owen McLeod poured in a season-high 18 points to lead the Mules. He tied his career-best marks with seven made field goals and four made threes. Senior Jon Schreer added 11 points to also score in double figures, making three of his nine three-point tries to give him 52 this season, good for the eighth most in a season by a Mule.
 
Muhlenberg opened the game making its first four shots, with McLeod (pictured above) and Schreer each making their first three-point tries and another McLeod jumper giving Muhlenberg a 10-4 advantage early. The Bears battled back to take a one-point lead before Schreer hit another triple to put the Mules back in front 20-18.
 
The two teams kept the game close until Ursinus scored six straight points to go up 39-33 with a minute and a half left in the first period. The Mules closed out the first half on a 6-0 run of their own, with sophomore Erik Werheim making a turnaround jumper to make it 39-38 as the teams headed into halftime.
 
The Bears started the second half on a 10-3 run before both Schreer and McLeod nailed their third three-pointers of the game to make it 49-44. Junior Nigel Long then forced a turnover on defense and outlet passed to McLeod who finished the fast-break layup to cut the deficit down to three with 12:28 to go.
 
Both teams traded baskets to keep the margin around three until Ursinus opened up a double-digit advantage with 7:40 left, which it maintained the rest of the way.
 
Hunter led Muhlenberg with nine rebounds in 18 minutes, while Long added nine points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes off the bench. Junior JeanLee Baez chipped in seven points, four rebounds and three assists as well. Long and Baez combined to go 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.