ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Despite four of five starters reaching double-digits the Dickinson men's basketball team was outscored 19-4 off the bench by the host Muhlenberg College as the Mules earned an 84-68 conference win over the Red and White at Memorial Hall on Thursday night.
The home side put the Devils in an early 10-0 hole thanks in large part to triples from Dan Gaines and Charlie Gillikin with 3:30 off the clock. Dickinson found their first points of the game with 16:25 left when
Luke Spellman setup
Anthony Goeb for a three, before
Randy Shephard added a layup on the next possession to halve the deficit to 10-5. Muhlenberg then re-established their double-digit cushion with a 9-2 push over the next four minutes as Tommy McGuire, Jayson Williams-Johnson, and Gillikin all made their way onto the scoreboard making it 19-7. The Red and White found some offensive momentum after that embarking on a 12-0 run of their own with
Isaiah Edmond,
Andrew Gostovich and Goeb each hitting the bottom of the net to draw level at 19-19 with just over eight minutes left. A pair of Gostovich foul shots kept things knotted 21-21, before tallies by Brandon Goldberg, Giovanni Rubio, Gaines and McGuire led to a a 10-1 stretch to make it 31-22. DC would account for four of the final seven points of the period with Goeb and Shephard each recording a bucket to leave the score at 34-26 at the break.
The Mules reasserted themselves to begin the second-half as Rubino netted eight points inside the opening two minutes to open the lead out to 44-30. A "four-point" play from Gostovich sparked the DC attack with
Martin Mann and Goeb also contributing to pull within 46-38 at 3:26 mark. However, once again the hosts had a response as buckets by Luke Gordos, McGuire, and Rubino pushed the margin to 53-38 with exactly five minutes gone.
Aaron Bailey picked up one of just two Devils bench baskets with 13:25 remaining, followed on the next trip down the floor by Mann finishing in the paint making it 56-44. Muhlenberg continued to stretch the advantage with eight of the next dozen coming from the group of Gains, Gillikin, McGuire, Rubino and Williams-Johnson extending the advantage to 64-48. Edmond and Gostovich went on a quick 7-0 spurt to trim the gap under double-figures (64-55), but then a 7-2 march from MC made the score 71-57 with 6:39 remaining. Three points each by Goeb and Mann kept DC afloat at 72-63 with 15:16 gone. However, Gains, Goldberg and Williams-Johnson amassed a 12-5 run to set the 84-68 final.
Red Devil Leaders
Points - Goeb (20), Gostovich (16), Edmond and Mann (11)
Rebounds - Edmond, Goeb, and Mann (5)
Assists - Gostovich (4), Goeb and Spellman (2)
Mule Leaders
Points - Gaines (26), Rubino (18)
Rebounds - Gaines (11), Goldberg (10)
Assists - Gaines (4), Goldberg (3)
Next on the Court
Dickinson (3-11, 1-6 Centennial) ends their three-game week on Saturday when they head to the Main Line to battle the Fords of Haverford College at 3pm in conference play.   Â
