The Muhlenberg men's basketball team overcame a deficit in the final minute and survived a desperation attempt that just missed to pull out a key 56-53 home win against Dickinson.

It was the third straight game decided by three points or fewer for the Mules (11-9, 4-4), who have a two-game lead for the sixth and final Centennial Conference playoff berth with five games remaining in the regular season. 

Muhlenberg led by nine points in the first half and 12 in the second, but both times the Red Devils (5-15, 2-6) came back, taking a 52-51 lead on a free throw with 52.1 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, with the shot clock winding down, sophomore Arinze Achufusi jump-stopped at the elbow and hit a fallaway jumper to put the Mules up 53-52 with 23.0 ticks on the clock. 

After a Dickinson miss, sophomore Drew Buck was fouled on the rebound and made both free throws with 7.4 seconds showing to extend the lead to 55-52.

Muhlenberg fouled with 2.6 seconds left to prevent a game-tying three-point attempt. The Dickinson player made the first and missed the second intentionally, but his miss did not hit the rim and the Mules took over.

Sophomore Jack Woodard made the first of two free throws with 2.2 on the clock. The Red Devils grabbed the defensive rebound and put up a shot from three-quarters court that hit the rim before bounding away, allowing Muhlenberg to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Mules shot 10-of-18 from three-point range, including 5-of-7 in the second half, and held Dickinson to 32.8-percent shooting to make up for a large 48-21 deficit in rebounds.

Woodard led Muhlenberg with 15 points and added a career-high 4 blocked shots. Buck finished with 15, going 3-for-4 from three-point range and 6-for-6 from the line, while Achufusi ended with 11 points.

Woodard, junior Peter Stanton-Shepherd (8 points, 6 rebounds), and junior Gavin D'Iorio (4 points, 2 rebounds) also did a nice job defending in the post against Dickinson's leading scorer, a physical 6-8 transfer from defending Division III national champion Trinity (Conn.). He did score 11 points but was held without a field goal in the second half.

The Mules hadn't played three consecutive games decided by three points or fewer in 40 years, since the 1985-86 season.

pictured above: Stanton-Shepherd