GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Muhlenberg College hit nine of its 14 three-pointers in the second half to push past Gettysburg College 72-59 in Centennial Conference men's basketball action Saturday inside Bream Gym.
 
Gettysburg (6-17, 4-12 CC) recognized its two seniors – Matt England (Warrington, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) and Cameron Stewart (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) – prior to the game and both responded with strong efforts. England posted his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Stewart finished with a team-high 15 points and five boards.
 
Brendan Hughes paced Muhlenberg (11-12, 9-7 CC) with 18 points on six three-pointers. Matt Gnias tallied 14 points and eight rebounds and Nick Rindock filled the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
 
Both offenses struggled early, but things picked up midway through the first half as Muhlenberg seized a seven-point lead (19-12) following a three-pointer by Ryan Gaynor with 9:06 to play. The Bullets recovered with a 12-2 run capped with a three-pointer and lay-up by freshman Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) for a 24-21 advantage.
 
A three-pointer by Owen McLead sparked a 7-0 spurt by the visitors and the Mules walked into the locker room leading 31-29.
 
The Mules dialed in from distance in the second half and a trio of threes by Hughes over a two and a half minute span gave the team a 45-35 lead with 15:01 to play.  A jumper by sophomore Joey Carroll (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) cut the margin back down to single digits temporarily before another trey by Hughes started off an eight-point run. The Bullets would get no closer than 13 over the final 10 minute of play.
 
Gettysburg finished 22-of-59 (37.3 percent) from the floor. Muhlenberg canned 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) shots, including 14-of-36 (38.9 percent) from three-point land. The Mules also held a slight 38-37 lead on the glass.
 
Junior Luke Cooper (Medford, N.J./Shawnee), sophomore Danny Duffey (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland), and freshman Chris Jack (Reckange-Sur-Mess, Luxembourg/The Hun School of Princeton) each scored eight points for Gettysburg.
 
Gettysburg makes its final home appearance of the season against McDaniel College (5-18, 2-14 CC) on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m.