The Muhlenberg men's basketball went wire-to-wire with 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins but suffered its first loss of the season, 59-55.

The Mules (8-1, 2-1), attempting to go 9-0 for the first time in 75 years, held a 10-point lead in the first half and had two possessions to tie the game with less than a minute to play against a Blue Jay squad that came in outscoring its opponents by an average of almost 19 points per game.

Junior Spencer Duke and sophomore Noah Watson scored 11 points apiece, while sophomore Dan Gaines finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Watson (pictured above) scored all 11 of his points in the first half, going 4-for-4 from the field. Two layups by Watson and three by junior Michael Morreale contributed to a 15-3 run that gave Muhlenberg a 28-18 lead with less than six minutes to play in the first half.

Hopkins (8-0, 3-0) was within six at the half and eventually took the lead, 43-42, with 11:59 left on the clock in the second half. A layup by senior Matt Gnias at the 5:37 mark gave the Mules their final lead, at 53-51.

The Blue Jays led 57-55 when Duke drove in for an apparent game-tying layup with 51 seconds left, but he was called for a charge. Muhlenberg turned the ball over after getting a defensive stop, and Hopkins iced the game by making two free throws with 6.0 seconds on the clock.