The Muhlenberg Weekly

Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Sports

At the end of 2005 Muhlenberg traveled to New Jersey to play The College of New Jersey, and got a good kick in the pants from the school in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. One year later, Muhlenberg wanted revenge and early on they looked like they were going to get it. The Mules had opened up with a 57-40 lead early in the second half and were looking to continue their solid early season play. However, The College of New Jersey came roaring back into the game as they hit a layup at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

The first overtime was controlled by The College of New Jersey, but Muhlenberg's Chris Huber '07 was fouled at the three-point line with less than ten seconds to play. Huber hit all three free throws to tie the game. The second overtime was controlled more by the Mules but The College of New Jersey hit four free throws at the end of the overtime to tie the game up at 96. The Mules went onto play a record tying third overtime. In the third overtime, it was again close but The College of New Jersey pulled away with under a minute to go and won 109-105 in an epic triple overtime thriller.

After the tough game against The College of New Jersey, Muhlenberg played cross-town rival, Desales, in hopes of ending 2006 with a win. The first half saw lead changes and tough play from both teams. However, at halftime Desales had a six point lead. The second half saw the Mules come out strong and go on a 15-4 run before Desales mounted their comeback and took the game 71-63. The Mules received a great effort from Jimmie Riggins '07 who had 23 point and 11 rebounds to record another double double.

The Mules came back to Allentown in hopes of starting 2007 better than they had finished 2006. However, the Mules were rudely met with an aggressive Moravian club. Muhlenberg opened up the new year with a tough first half and trailed Moravian by three. However, as the game went on so did the Mules' struggles. Moravian eventually built its lead up to 24 and won the game 80-61. Huber had 14 points in the losing effort.

The Mules put the Moravian game behind them and quickly moved back into conference play taking on the Gettysburg Bullets. This game appeared to be very similar to most games against the Bullets: low scoring and close. It was just a question of which team could execute the best and pull off the victory. Gettysburg had the early lead and continued to control the game early in the second half. However, the Mules continued to chip away. As seconds continued to tick off the clock, the Mules inched closer and closer to the lead, and they took it with 43 seconds remaining off a Chris Macintosh jumper. However, Gettysburg came right back and tied it up again. This sent the game into Overtime, where Senior Chris Pothering hit three three-pointers to give the Mules a 67-64 win. Riggins also had another double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools