The Muhlenberg men's basketball team continued its late-season surge, using a flurry of three-pointers to defeat Gettysburg, 72-59, for its fourth win in the last five games.
 
The win, combined with Dickinson's 63-59 win against Ursinus, kept the Mules (11-12, 9-7) in sixth place in the Centennial Conference, one game behind both Dickinson and Ursinus, with two games remaining in the regular season. They can tie Ursinus for the fifth and final playoff spot with a win in Wednesday's final scheduled home game.
 
Muhlenberg shot 9-of-20 from three-point range in the second half and finished the game with 14 triples, tying the school record for a CC game set at Swarthmore 12 years ago. Junior Brendan Hughes scored all of his career-high 18 points on six threes.
 
Sophomore Matt Gnias (two threes) had 14 points and 8 rebounds, while sophomore Ryan Gaynor made three threes for all nine of his points. Senior Nigel Long also drained a pair of three-pointers.
 
The Mules led by as many as seven points in a closely contested first half and took a two-point lead into the locker room on a pair of free throws by Gnias with 1:04 left.
 
The teams traded baskets at the start of the second half, leaving Muhlenberg with a 33-31 advantage before two more free throws by Gnias kicked off a decisive 20-6 run fueled by long-distance shots.
 
Of the Mules' next 18 points, 15 came on five three-pointers – four by Hughes and one by Gaynor (pictured above) -  in a span of nine possessions. The blitz, which ended on a layup by senior JeanLee Baez, left Muhlenberg with a 53-37 lead at the 11-minute mark.
 
Gettysburg (6-17, 4-12) never got closer than 13 points the rest of the game.
 
Junior Erik Werheim pulled down 10 rebounds for the Mules. Senior Nick Rindock finished with 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 points.