Knox Tallies 17 Points, 12 Rebounds and Career-High Seven Assists

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Host Washington College got a tied for team-best 17 points, game-best 12 rebounds and a career-topping seven assists from junior forward Dave Knox (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) as the Shoremen downed visiting Muhlenberg 77-76 on Saturday afternoon at the Cain Athletic Center in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game.  The Shoremen improve to 2-13 overall and 2-6 in the Centennial, while the Mules fall to 7-8 and 2-6 respectively.

The Mules led 40-32 at halftime and took their biggest lead of the game at 45-34 with 18:07 to go in the second half on a Nick Rindock jumper.  The Shoremen would answer with a 17-2 run to take a 51-47 lead with 14:22 remaining in the contest on a traditional three-point play by freshman guard Tas Dixon (Ardmore, Pa./Harriton).  The Shoremen scored 11 straight points to tie the game at 45-45 with 15:40 left on two Knox free throws and after an Owen McLeod jumper on the ensuing Muhlenberg possession gave the guests a two-point, the Shoremen closed the run with six straight points.  The two teams were tied at 62-62 with 7:41 remaining when Washington would take the lead for the rest of the game on a three-pointer by sophomore guard James Drury (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Academy) with 7:05 left to put WC up 65-62.  A pair of Knox free throws would give the Shoremen a six-point lead, their largest cushion of the game for the second time, at 75-69 with 4:25 remaining.  The Mules would score the next five points to cut the WC lead to 75-74 with 3:07 remaining on a Malique Killing three-pointer.  Knox would respond 14 seconds later with a layup to make it 77-74 Shoremen.  Brandon LaRose would respond with a lay-in with 2:02 for the game's final points.  The Mules had four chances to take the lead, but missed three shots and turned the ball over once.  With six seconds left, McLeod missed a triple from the right corner and senior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) grabbed the rebound.  Weston was immediately fouled with three ticks left and went to the foul line.  He missed the front end of the one-and-one and McLeod got the rebound.  Jon Schreer's desperation attempt from about 55 feet was off to the left and the Shoremen picked up the win.

In the opening half, the two teams were tied at 12-12 when Muhlenberg went on a 9-2 run to take a 21-14 lead with 8:38 left in the first half on a Killing layup.  The Shoremen would respond with an 11-2 spurt to take a 25-23 lead with 4:22 remaining on two Knox free throws.  The Shoremen led 27-26 with 3:16 left in the half following a layup by senior forward Sean Flanigan (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) when the Mules went on a 14-5 run to end the opening half to take 40-32 lead into halftime.  LaRose would give the Mules the lead for the rest of the half with 3:00 left at 28-27 on a layup.  Leading 34-32, Muhlenberg scored the final six points to take an eight-point halftime lead on a pair of threes.  Rindock nailed a triple with 18 seconds left and McLeod closed the first half scoring on a half-court line drive buzzer beater.

Joining Knox with 17 points on the day for the Shoremen was junior forward Pat Morgan (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) who scored his 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the floor.  Weston had a game-best three steals, while Drury passed out five assists as the Shoremen handed out a season-high 23 assists.  Senior center Connor Silhanek (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) tied his career-high with three assists and led the team with a career-high two rejections.  The Shoremen shot 45% from the floor (30-for-67), 38% from three-point territory (9-for-24) and 67% from the foul line (8-for-12).  The Shoremen outscored the Mules in bench points (19-7), points off of turnovers (18-17) and second chance points (11-8).  WC turned it over 12 times, while forcing 14 Muhlenberg miscues.

Killing scored a game-high 21 points, while Rindock added 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor to go with 3-for-3 from behind the arc, and LaRose added 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field.  Rindock grabbed a team-best six rebounds, while Schreer passed out seven assists to tie Knox for game-high.  John Hunter had three blocked shots to lead all players, while LaRose and McLeod had two steals each.  The Mules shot 52% from the floor (30-for-58), 56% from three-point land (9-for-16) and 88% from the foul stripe (7-for-8).  The Mules had a 38-36 edge in points in the paint and 16-15 advantage in transition points.

There were 11 ties and seven lead changes in the game.

The Shoremen are back at home on Wednesday night with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game against reigning conference champion Johns Hopkins.