ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team (4-9, 1-0 CC) competed in its first Centennial Conference contest of the season on Saturday, defeating the Muhlenberg Mules (7-6, 0-1 CC) by a score of 81-71 inside Memorial Hall on the campus of Muhlenberg College.
Haverford came out strong, going on a quick 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds of the game. During the run, the Fords were 3-of-3 from the field, with Logan Brown quickly scoring four points inside the paint, followed by an Ali Kaan Bek three-pointer that prompted a timeout from the Mules.
However, Muhlenberg answered right back, going on an 8-3 scoring run of its own. Peter Stanton-Shepherd knocked down two consecutive triples, while Luke Gordos added a layup to give the hosts the lead. A Carter Warren three-pointer then gave Haverford the lead again, 10-8.
A Luke Phillips three-pointer extended the advantage to 13-8, before the Mules pulled within two points at 13-11 with 15:54 to go in the first half. Both teams continued to go basket-for-basket, with the hosts edging out Haverford 13-11, to tie the game at 21-21 with 11:10 to go in the opening half. During this scoring stretch, Muhlenberg went 4-of-7 from the field, while Drew Buck connected on one shot from downtown. The Scarlet and Black shot just 2-of-7 from the field during this period, with Warren hitting a three-pointer.
Haverford then shot 50 percent from the field (3-of-6), with Gaven Marr draining a three-pointer to give the Fords a 30-26 lead with 7:22 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately for the visitors, the Mules closed out the half on a 17-5 run to take a 43-35 advantage into the halftime break. During this run, Arinze Achufusi scored five points, while Muhlenberg went an impressive 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
At the half, Warren led the Fords in points with eight, having gone 3-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Stanton-Shepherd led all scorers with 14 first-half points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
The Fords opened the second half with an 11-5 scoring run to cut the Mules' advantage to just two points, 48-46, with 13:13 to go in the game. During this run, Marr scored six points, while Adam Strong-Jacobson, Brown, and Christian Uremovich all contributed to the scoring. Uremovich and Alex George then scored consecutive buckets to give the visitors the lead again, 50-48, with 11 minutes remaining.
The Scarlet and Black continued to press, outscoring the Mules 17-6 in a five-minute surge to take a 67-54 lead with just 5:09 remaining. Haverford shot 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range during this stretch. Brown added four more points, while Kaan Bek, Phillips, and Derin Ongur all connected from behind the arc.
A brief 6-2 scoring run by Muhlenberg brought the Fords' lead back down to single digits (69-60) with just over two minutes to go, but Haverford closed the game out at the free-throw line, sinking 12-of-13 free throws down the stretch to claim an 81-71 victory.
Warren finished with a game-high 14 points, including six critical free throws to ice the game. Marr followed closely with 13 points, and Brown recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. For the Mules, Stanton-Shepherd led all players with 16 points, while Buck added 13 points, and Giovanni Rubino contributed 12.
A key factor in the game was Haverford's dominance in the paint, as the Fords outscored the Mules 32-20 under the basket. The Scarlet and Black also controlled the glass, pulling down 45 rebounds compared to Muhlenberg's 36. The Victory was Haverford's first win over the Mules since sweeping the 2021-22 season series with an 85-74 win on February 8, 2022.
The Fords will look to keep the momentum going in their next matchup against Centennial Conference foe Ursinus on January 15 at 6 p.m. The game at Gooding '84 Arena will be the second of a doubleheader, with Haverford women's basketball taking on the Bears at 4 p.m.