Muhlenberg turned back by Executive Education
Somehow, Muhlenberg continued to hang with a tall and talented Executive Education team deep into their match-up Friday night at Santander Arena.
Tashiro Alexis kept hitting shots, Edwin Suarez kept hitting the glass and the Muhls clung to a team drenched with Division I talent.
Jeremiah Bembry hit four straight free throws in the final 16 seconds as to help the Raptors finally put some distance between them and the Muhls in the opening game of the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic.
It was a heckuva an opening act for the main show between Reading High and Vertical Academy.
The Muhls (11-5) had the lead in the third quarter and were within 52-50 with 5:09 left after Suarez converted a three-point play.
Bembry’s rebound basket following a missed free throw put the Raptors (7-3) up 55-50 and the Muhls got no closer than three the rest of the way.
Bembry, a Florida State recruit, was named Raptors MVP after scoring 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He scored nine points in the final quarter.
Tashiro Alexis was named Muhlenberg MVP after scoring 16 points.
Suarez had a huge second half, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He finished with a team-high 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The loss was the second straight and third in four games for Muhlenberg.
The Muhls faced an imposing lineup that the 6-6 Bembry, Drexel recruit Kobe Magee and 6-11 Moustapha Sanoh. Magee scored 22 points.
The Muhls led 16-14 after one period when J’Daniel Mosquera hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the first quarter.
Muhlenberg led 28-26 on Alexis’ 3-pointer with 2:32 left in the first half. The Raptors took a 32-30 lead into intermission on Jalil Schneck’s buzzer-beating putback.
The Muhls stayed close despite 12 first-half turnovers, and despite the fact that Suarez didn’t have a big half. He scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting and had three rebounds.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Executive Education | 14 | 18 | 13 | 22 | 67 |
| Muhlenberg | 16 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 62 |
| Raptors (7-3) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Magee | 9-14 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| Oquendo | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Schneck | 6-10 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Bembry | 8-18 | 8-11 | 0-0 | 1 | 7 | 24 |
| Sanoh | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Munez | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brantley | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Totals | 25-49 | 15-20 | 2-9 | 3 | 29/30 | 67 |
| Muhls (11-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Suarez | 8-23 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 1 | 14 | 17 |
| Mosquera | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Alexis | 6-18 | 2-4 | 2-7 | 1 | 6 | 16 |
| Tomlinson | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Robertson | 2-7 | 5-6 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Adonis | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Alcantara | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Branch | 1-4 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | 23-67 | 10-16 | 6-19 | 8 | 38/43 | 62 |
Turnovers: Executive Education 17, Muhlenberg 18.