The Muhlenberg men's basketball team built a big lead early and held on for a 72-62 home win against Gettysburg.

The win put the Mules (12-7, 7-5) into a tie with the Bullets (10-9, 7-5) for fourth place in the Centennial Conference with three weeks left in the regular season. Of Muhlenberg's six remaining games, only one is against a team that is higher in the standings.

Junior Giovanni Rubino led all scorers with 22 points, hitting the 20-point mark for the seventh time this season. Graduate student Dan Gaines finished with 13 points, while sophomores Luke Gordos and Jayson Williams-Johnson netted 11 apiece.

Gordos (pictured above) made four layups in the first 3:20; combined with a three-point play by junior Brandon Goldberg, they gave Muhlenberg an 11-2 lead.

The margin swelled to 17, at 24-7, on a layup by senior Tommy McGuire midway through the first half. The Bullets, who beat the Mules by 15 points when the teams met earlier in the month, closed to within six at halftime.

Gettysburg drew within three at 49-46 and had two possessions with a chance to tie the game midway through the second half. The Bullets made a layup on the second possession to make it 49-48, but Muhlenberg responded with a 9-0 run to re-establish a double-digit lead.

The Bullets had the ball down eight with under two minutes to play when Gordos took a charge. On the ensuing possession, Gordos drove the lane with the shot clock winding down and whipped the ball to Williams-Johnson in the corner. Williams-Johnson drained the three for the dagger.

McGuire finished with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.