ALLENTOWN, PA – Muhlenberg shot 54.2 percent from the field for the game, including 60.0 percent in the second half, en route to a 91-75 win over visiting Johns Hopkins Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference (CC) action. The Blue Jays drop their third straight as they slip to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the CC while the Mules improve to 6-1 overall with their third straight win and 3-1 in the conference.

With the game tied at 10 following a three-pointer from senior Daniel Corbett, the Mules got a layup from Kevin Hargrove at 15:05 to ignite a 15-4 run that saw Muhlenberg take a 25-14 lead just six minutes later. Malique Killing fueled the run with nine points, while James Albano capped the run with a bucket in the paint at 9:13. Hopkins answered with a quick 6-2 run, with four of those points coming from the free throw line, to pull within seven at the 6:40-mark. 

The teams traded trips to the charity stripe before a Killing jumper and a John Schreer triple made it a 12-point game with 3:52 to go. The Blue Jays cu the deficit to single digits on a Niko Kotoulas put-back and an Omar Randall free throw. But the Mules came right back with 11-4 burst to end the half and take a 45-29 lead into the locker room. Killing once again did much of the damage with six points and an assist during the burst.

Coming out of the half, Muhlenberg twice pushed its lead to 16 but Hopkins responded in a big way. Trailing 49-33 with 18:33 still to play, junior Jimmy Hammer drained a bucket from downtown; followed by an offensive board and layup by sophomore Matt Billups, and the Blue Jays were off and running on a 21-8 spurt. Hammer scored 10 points for the Blue Jays during the run, including a pair of three-pointers, as they trimmed the deficit from 16 points down to three on a pair of free throws from sophomore Austin Vasiliadis.

That's as close as Hopkins could get however, as the teams traded turnovers on back-to-back possessions and then Alec Stavetski converted a four-point play after getting fouled on a made trey at 10:34. John Hunter then pushed the lead to nine with a jumper just 32 seconds later. Billups and Vasiliadis answered with back-to-back jumpers to cut the deficit back to five but Stavetski drained consecutive jumpers in response and the lead was back to nine with 8:32 to go.

Hopkins would once again pull within six after a free throw and a jumper by junior George Bugarinovic made it a 67-61 game. But Muhlenberg would outscore Hopkins, 24-14 down the stretch; and led by as many as 20 before four late JHU free throws made it a 16-point game.

Hammer led the Blue Jays with 19 points, while Corbett finished with five assists and a season-high 15 points. Killing led four Mules in double figures with a game-high 32 points, while also handing out six assists. Stavetski put up 18 points, Albano had 14 and Schreer chipped in 10.

Hopkins will now take a four-week break for exams and the holidays and will return to action on Friday, January 3. JHU will travel to Huntingdon, PA for the Juniata Holiday Tournament. Hopkins will take on Case Western at 5:00 pm at Memorial Gymnasium.