CHESTERTOWN — Precieux Tshibangu knocked down a 3-pointer on the game’s first shot to break the seal and Washington never trailed Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference men’s basketball action here Saturday.
But it was senior Ethan Schwantes, putting up career highs of 27 points and 16 rebounds, who led the 6-9 Shoremen to their first CC win of the season, 71-60.
Schwantes was 7-of-11 from the field and 13-of-16 from the stripe in 29 minutes off the bench. His line also included four blocks.
Davis Bland and Nolan Waldon also scored in double figures for the winners, with 13 and 10 points, respectively, and Tshibangu contributed nine points.
Washington stretched its 30-22 lead at the break to as many as 13 points in the second half.
The margin was still double digits, 57-47, after a pair of Schwantes free throws with 6 minutes and 24 seconds to play.
Then, the Mules (7-8, 0-3 CC) made their best bid to take the lead with an 8-0 run.
Freshman Drew Buck scored five points and senior Luke Gordos added a 3-pointer, plus blocked a fast-break layup attempt, to shrink the deficit to 57-55 with just under five minutes remaining.
Washington coach Corey Begly called a 30-second time-out.
On the restart, the Shoremen scored the next six points, beginning with a dunk from the 6-foot-5 Schwantes.
Schwantes was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line over the final 2:30 to help salt away the win.
For the Mules, senior guard Giovanni Rubino scored a team-high 13 points to push his career total to 1,410 — 11th overall in program history. He also had nine assists and seven rebounds in 38 minutes.
Also, sophomore Peter Stanton-Shepherd recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, classmate Gavin D’Iorio scored 12 points and Buck contributed 10.
NEXT: The Shoremen head to Swarthmore on Wednesday, Jan. 22 in another conference game. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
WC returns home Saturday, Jan. 25 for a women’s-men’s twin bill against Haverford. The men play at 4 p.m.