ALLENTOWN, Pa.- The Haverford College Men's basketball team (3-5, 1-3 CC) couldn't fend off a late rally from the Muhlenberg College Mules (3-3, 2-2 CC), dropping a close Centennial Conference matchup 78-72 inside Memorial Hall on the campus of Muhlenberg College.
Muhlenberg jumped out to a hot start in the opening minutes, racing out to a 13-2 lead. The Mules took advantage of a 1-of-7 start from the field by the Fords, and knocked down six of their first nine shots. In the 13-2 stretch, Gio Rubino dropped four points, and the stifling Muhlenberg defense ripped away four steals.
Down 13-2 with 13:38 to go in the first half, the Scarlet and Black turned the tides and went on a 7-2 run in just over a minute to pull within just six points. Highlights of the scoring stretch were a three-pointer from Ali Kaan Bek, and a dazzling slam dunk from Gaven Marr.
The team traded buckets for the next 2:57, until Haverford pulled away in a 10-4 scoring run that saw the Fords trail by just two points, 19-17. Rubino connected on a three-pointer, only for Haverford's Nicholas Stewart to answer right back to keep the score within two, 22-20.
Following a made free-throw from Rubino, Nick Klaiber drilled the third three-pointer in a row for the Fords, to tie the game 23-23.
With 5:36 to go, after more back-and-forth action, a Gabriel Franklin driving layup gave the Scarlet and Black their first lead of the contest, 27-25. The Mules tied the game right back up at 27, until the Fords pushed out to their biggest lead of the half. After two made free-throws from Brandon Banadda, consecutive triples from Franklin and Kaan Bek increased the Haverford lead to 35-27, with three minutes to go.
A 10-0 scoring run for Muhlenberg, fueled by seven points from Rubino, gave the Mules the lead once again 37-35 with 1:16 to go in the half. Two points from Klaiber were answered by two made free-throws by Klaiber's high-school teammate Nate Hoffman of Muhlenberg, as the two teams headed into halftime with the Mules holding a 39-37 advantage.
At the half, Rubino led all scorers with 19 points, while Kaan Bek paced the Fords with eight points off the bench. Despite a slow start, Haverford ended the half shooting 53.8 percent from the field, and went 6-of-12 in three-point shots.
The second-half started off with a lightning pace, as both teams went tic for tac, with the Fords edging out the Mules in a 13-10 scoring run in the first four minutes of the second stanza, to go up 50-49. Nine of the thirteen points stemmed from three-pointers, as Franklin, Marr, and Klaiber, all found nylon from deep.
The next five minutes saw a substantial 12-3 Haverford scoring stretch, as the Scarlet and Black reached their biggest lead of the game at 10, 62-52. In the scoring span, an impressive 64 percent shooting percentage from the field was the real catalyst for the Fords' advantage.
A four and-a-half minute, 14-4 rally from the Mules sparked a tie game 66-66 with just 4:19 to go in the game. Despite the Scarlet and Black keeping Rubino in check, a 5-of-9 shooting display that included 2-of-3 from three-point land ignited the big comeback for Muhlenberg.
After the momentum switch, the Mules continued rolling, closing the game out with another 12-6 scoring run to snatch the game away from the Fords 78-72. Drew Greene came up clutch in the final minutes, anchoring the win for Muhlenberg.
Rubino ended the contest as the leading scorer, dropping 24 points. A total of 10 second-half points from Green gave the sophomore guard 14 points on the night.
Klaiber's 11 points in the second half pushed the first-year guard's total to 18 points in the matchup, while Kaan Bek finished with a season-high 12 points. Clay Killoren pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, and handed out a team-leading four assists.
The Fords now face a quick turn around, as they play under the lights of Gooding '84 Arena this Friday, December 8, hosting the Ravens of Rosemont in non-conference action. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.