(Allentown, Pa.) – The Dickinson men's basketball team almost overcame a slow start in Allentown but Muhlenberg College held on and used solid free throw shooting to post a 72-58, Centennial Conference win on Thursday night.

The Red Devils had a tough start as Muhlenberg opened a 10-0 lead in the opening seven minutes. The offense continued to struggle with the Mules holding a 28-8 advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

Junior Moses Romocki (Creedmoor, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) put together a pair of strong moves to the basket and sophomore Corey Sherman (Penn Valley, Pa./Lower Merion) hit a three-pointer to make the score, 30-15.

JeanLee Baez added a lay-up at the end of the half to give Muhlenberg a 32-15 lead at the break.

The teams combined for just seven points in the early minutes of the second half. The Red Devils started to make a run, cutting the deficit to just six, at the 11:40 mark as Romocki hit double-figures with a three-point play.

Owen McCloud hit a three-pointer and a lay-up to give Muhlenberg a 47-33 lead with just under nine minutes to play. First-year Bryce Allen (Albany, N.Y./The Hill School) came back with a three-pointer from the corner before Brandon LaRose scored back-to-back, stretching the margin to 51-36.

The score moved to 55-43 with the help of a Romocki three-point play and a three-point field-goal from Allen, with 4:43 remaining in the game.

Elijah Wright (Orange, N.J./The Pennington School) hit a wide open three-pointer to make the score, 58-48, with a little over three minutes on the clock. Wright hit a pair of free throws on the next possession to cut the deficit to single digits.

Muhlenberg answered and then made a steal and ran off some clock before adding a three-pointer. Another defensive rebound and foul shots put the Mules up, 65-50.

The teams would trade free throws over the final two minutes for the final 72-58.

Romocki led the Red Devils with 13 points and six rebounds, adding a pair of blocked shots. Junior Justus Melton (Charlotte, N.C./Covenant Day) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Wright reached double-figures with 13 points, hitting 5-of-6 free throws and recording four steals. Allen went 4-for-4 from the line, scoring 10 points, and Mike Hinckley (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Episcopal Academy) grabbed five rebounds and made a pair of steals.

Muhlenberg improved to 10-7 overall and 5-6 in the Centennial Conference. LaRose led the Mules with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Red Devils slip to 9-9 overall and 6-5 in the CC. They will be on the road again on Saturday, traveling to Haverford College for a 3:00 pm tip-off.