COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's basketball team fell to 1-1 on the season after dropping an 88-80 decision to Muhlenberg College on the second day of the 2014 Centennial-MAC Challenge, hosted by Ursinus College.
The Mules (2-0) shot 55 percent (30-55) from the field and 48 percent (13-27) from three to secure the win, while the Knights shot 48 percent (29-61) from the field and 38 percent (6-16) from three.
Senior guard Malique Killing scored a game-high 22 points with six rebounds and four assists to lead Muhlenberg, while junior guard Alec Stavetski poured in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field with a trio of three and a 3 for 4 showing at the line. Sophomore guards Jon Scheer and Brandon LaRose chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Senior guards
Torrell Candelaria and
Travis Saltus scored 14 points each to lead five Arcadia players that scored in double figures Saltus also tallied five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Freshman guard
Sean Mayberry netted 12 points, while sophomore guard Ryan Kelly added 11 points on a 4 for 4 shooting day with one three and a 2 for 3 performance at the line. Junior guard
John Landro added 10 points with three assists and three steals.
The Knights opened the game with an eight-point run and led 12-4 following a layup from senior forward
Jose Figueroa before a LaRose capped a 13-point run for the Mules with a layup seven minutes into the game. The lead then changed hands several times before Candelaria knocked down a pair of free throws that gave Arcadia 35-31 advantage with five minutes to go in the first half, but Muhlenberg closed the frame with a 12-4 run to take a 43-39 lead into the locker room.
The Knights outscored the Mules 18-6 over the first six and a half minutes of the second half to open a 57-49 lead and led by as many as 10 after Candelaria's layup with just under 10 minutes on the clock gave Arcadia a 69-59 advantage. The Knights led for most of the second half and were up 76-69 after a Mayberry made free throw with 5:10 left in the game.
Muhlenberg took over from there and closed the contest with a 19-4 run to pull out the win. The Mules tied the game on a three from Killing knotted the score at 78 and they took the lead on LaRoses layup on their next trip down the court.
Arcadia will look to bounce back Wednesday with a non-conference game at Rutgers-Camden that starts at 7 p.m.
