CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Hamilton College shot a season-best 54.1 percent from the field and the Continentals cruised to an 89-70 win over the Muhlenberg College Mules in the Al Senavitis Memorial Tournament at DeSales University's Billera Hall on Saturday, Dec. 30.
Season Update
- Hamilton (5-6 overall) won for the third time in its last four games.
- Muhlenberg (3-7), which is 2-2 in the Centennial Conference, lost its fourth straight contest.
How It Happened
- Garret Keyhani '26, who had missed the previous four games due to injury, put the Continentals in the lead for good at 7-6 with a 3-pointer. Matthew Rideout '27 made it 10-6 with another shot from beyond the arc.
- Giovanni Rubino pulled the Mules within two points at 12-10 on a free throw with 12:55 left. Hamilton started to pull away with a 12-2 run that gave the Continentals a double-digit lead for the first time. Graham Robinson '25 started the spurt with a trifecta and Keyhani ended it with a pair of baskets from long range for a 24-12 advantage with 8:48 remaining.
- A steal and 3-pointer by Muhlenberg's Jay Williams-Johnson cut Hamilton's lead to eight at 30-22 with 5:41 to go.
- The Continentals responded with 13 straight points during the next four-plus minutes. Christian McDaniel '24 began the spurt with a jumper and Jalen Reese '27 completed a fast break with a layup off a feed from Hank Morgan '25. Sharif Nelson '26 and Rideout canned jumpers on back-to-back possessions, and Rideout made it 43-22 with 1:21 left after he nailed a 3-pointer and followed up his own miss. Hamilton took a 46-26 lead into the locker room.
- The Mules didn't get closer than 13 points in the second half. The Continentals matched their biggest lead of 21 points on McDaniel's 3-point shot that made it 78-57 with 6:40 remaining, and on Morgan's jumper in the lane for an 80-59 advantage with 5:33 to go. Hamilton shot 15 of 24 (62.5 percent) from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
Notes
- The Continentals enjoyed a 45-3 advantage in points off the bench and had a season-best 24 assists on 33 made baskets.
- Hamilton committed nine turnovers and averaged just 7.5 in the two tournament games.
- Morgan led the Continentals with 14 points and seven rebounds. He was 5 of 6 from the floor including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
- Rideout, who had five points coming into today, finished with 13 off the bench.
- Keyhani chipped in 12 points and two steals in just 13 minutes.
- Teja Singh '25 dropped in 11 points and is tied for seventh in the NESCAC with 15.8 per game.
- Owen Kane '25 handed out a career-high seven assists and is third in the conference with 3.5 per contest.
- Rubino paced Muhlenberg with a game-high 29 points and Williams-Johnson registered 16.
- Brandon Goldberg posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.
- The Mules made just 9 of 28 shots (32.1 percent) in the first half.
Next Game
Hamilton kicks off its NESCAC schedule at Middlebury College (5-7) on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.