The Muhlenberg men's basketball team overcame a nine-point deficit and came up with a big stop at the end to defeat Scranton, 48-45, in the first round of Albright's DoubleTree Holiday Tournament.

The Mules (6-4) advance to the championship game to face Alfred, a 63-61 winner over Albright in the other first-round game.

Muhlenberg was clinging to a 46-45 lead when the Royals (4-5) inbounded the ball in front of their bench with 8.8 seconds left in regulation. Scranton threw the ball to its top scorer in the post, but sophomore Gavin D'Iorio played tough defense and forced a difficult shot. 

Sophomore Peter Stanton-Shepherd snagged the rebound and made both ends of a one-and-one with a half-second remaining to ice the win.

Defense and rebounding carried the Mules for the entire game. Playing for the first time in 15 days, they went just 3-for-23 from three-point range but held Scranton to 34.6-percent shooting and allowed only three offensive rebounds and 21 second-half points.

The Royals hit two three-pointers in the first 90 seconds to open up a 6-0 lead, but Muhlenberg allowed only one three the rest of the game. The Mules trailed 17-8 late in the first half before cutting the gap two three at the break, with senior Giovanni Rubino and freshman Drew Buck each netting five points in the final 6:11 of the half.

A three by Buck early in the second half tied the game at 27-all, and Muhlenberg finally took its first lead at 31-29 on a pair of free throws by sophomore Elias Sherman-Murphy.

Rubino beat the shot clock with a lane jumper with 9:13 left on the clock, giving the Mules a 37-35 lead, and they never let Scranton catch up. They also never led by more than five, making for some tense possessions down the stretch. A jumper by Rubino with just under a minute remaining made it 46-43 and accounted for what proved to be the winning points. 

Rubino finished with a game-high 16 points and also pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds. Stanton-Shepherd also narrowly missed a double-double, recording 9 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Buck netted 8 points.

Senior Luke Gordos (pictured above) scored Muhlenberg's first 6 points, adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists. 

The game marked the first time the Mules won a game while scoring fewer than 50 points since a 45-43 victory against Gettysburg in the 2013 Centennial Conference playoffs.