READING, Pa. -- Josh Marquez and Omari Ringgold each scored 15 points to lead Albright, but a late Lions rally was not enough to defeat Muhlenberg as the Mules claimed a 74-66 victory on the opening day of the MAC-Centennial Challenge on Friday in the Bollman Center.in the season opener for both teams.

Albright struggled to get its offense untracked as the Lions shot just 32.8 percent from the floor, which included a 26.9 percent effort in the first half.

Muhlenberg took advantage of the Lions sluggish start and shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first period on its way to a 36-24 lead at the intermission.

After trailing by 16 points early in the second half, Albright fought its way back into the game and climbed to within 70-66 with 1:07 to play but the Mules made 4-of-5 free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the victory.

Sophomore DeJuan Smith also reached double figures in points for the Lions as he finished with 11 points before fouling out late in the contest. Jaylin Calloway came off the Albright bench to score eight points as did Evan Ward.

John Hunter scored a game-high 17 points to lead Muhlenberg and he also had eight rebounds and three blocks.

Four Mules players reached double figures as Alec Stevetski finished with 16 points, Nick Rindock added 15 points and John Schreer finished with 12 points.

The two teams combined for 58 fouls and shot 59 free throws for the game.

Albright took an early 5-2 lead, but Muhlenberg responded with a 13-1 run powered by six points from Hunter to take a 15-6 lead with 14:52 to play in the opening half.

Three-point baskets by Ringgold and Calloway led a 9-0 Albright run, which tied the contest at 15-15 with 11:23 to play in the first period.

After a layup by Jayson Clark but the Muhlenberg lead to 22-19 with 8:08 to play in the first period, the Mules closed the half on a 14-5 run to take a 36-24 lead into the intermission.

Two baskets by Rindock to open the second period gave Muhlenberg its largest lead of the game at 40-24 with 18:10 to play.

Two free throws by Ringgold and a steal and a dunk by Smith cut the Mules lead to 61-53 with 3:36 to play, which marked the first time Albright trimmed the lead to under 10 points in the second half.

Rindock upped the Muhlenberg lead to 70-61 with 1:32 to play before the Lions put together a spirited rally.

Marquez made three consecutive free throws and Ringgold scored off a Muhlenberg turnover to bring the Lions to within 70-66 with 1:07 left in the game.

But Muhlenberg secured the victory by making its free throw attempts down the stretch.

Albright will face Haverford, which lost to Arcadia in the first game of the day, at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Muhlenberg on the final day of the MAC-Centennial Challenge.