The Muhlenberg men's basketball team shot over 60 percent in the first half and breezed to an 81-67 win at Franklin & Marshall.

The win was not only the first for the Mules (15-8, 10-6) in Lancaster since 2001, after 23 straight losses, but it also lifted them into a three-way tie for third place in the Centennial Conference with one week to go in the regular season. Muhlenberg is tied for third with Gettysburg, which lost at Haverford, and Ursinus. All three teams have clinched playoff berths, but only the third and fourth seeds get to host playoff games.

Graduate student Dan Gaines led the way for the Mules with a spectacular 35-point effort. It was his fourth career 30-point game, and it was the first 35-point game for a Muhlenberg player in nine years.

Gaines was 13-of-18 from the field, becoming the first Mule to score 35 points in 18 or fewer attempts since 2004. He was 7-for-10 from three-point range, coming within one of the school record for three-pointers in a game.

The 35 points also moved Gaines into the top 10 on the Mules' all-time scoring list with 1,412 for his career.

Gaines wasn't the only Muhlenberg player to enjoy a big scoring day – junior Giovanni Rubino poured in 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The 60 points were the most by two Mules in the same game since the 2013-14 season, when Malique Killing (37) and Alec Stavetski (25) combined for 62 in an overtime loss at Washington.

Muhlenberg trailed 12-6 early on before Rubino scored eight straight Mule points. The Diplomats (10-13, 5-11) made a basket to forge a 22-all tie with eight minutes left in the half, but Muhlenberg closed the period on a 24-9 surge. Gaines (pictured above) scored 13 of his points in the run, which gave the Mules a 15-point lead at the break.

The Mules remained comfortably in front throughout the second half, stretching their lead to as many as 24 points.

Sophomore Jayson Williams-Johnson came off the bench to score 12 points.

Muhlenberg combined its hot first-half shooting with stingy defense, holding F&M under 40-percent shooting for the game.