Matt Flowers-Muhlenberg

Matt Flowers preaches defense, defense, and more defense. You can imagine that the Muhls’ first-year head coach wasn’t the least bit happy with his team’s performance on Saturday. Muhlenberg lost to Nativity 82-76. Flowers’ squad gave a much better defensive effort on Monday evening in Laureldale. The Muhls rolled over Exeter 76-53 in a crossover matchup. The Eagles were held to 24 points in the first half. They were outscored 21-10 in the second quarter. Flowers said Edwin Suarez controlled the game on both ends of the floor. The 6’6 senior poured in a career-high 32 points including 21 in the second half. He was 12-13 from the free throw line. Suarez showed off his ball-handling skills in the fourth quarter. He got the crowd on its feet with 4:30 left after a sweet crossover led to a dunk. He converted two three-point plays within fifty seconds of each other in the third quarter. Suarez is averaging 19 points. He was motivated after scoring a season-low 5 points and fouling out against Nativity. Flowers went with a new starting lineup on Monday. Xzavion Robertson and Alex Tomlinson got the nod, while juniors Mekhi Adonis and Eric Branch came off the bench. All eleven of Robertson’s points came in the first half. He drilled a 3-pointer with ten seconds remaining in the second quarter for a 37-24 advantage. The (11-3, 5-1) Muhls were in front 53-40 after the third period. Luis Valentin was a spark off the bench with 14 points. The 5’11 junior had seven points in the pivotal second quarter. Flowers talked about the lineup changes, as well as his strategy in the final quarter. He also mentioned the great support from the student section. Muhlenberg went 24-31 from the free throw line, while Exeter was 9-13. Colin Payne, the leading scorer in Berks County, got his third foul after just five and a-half minutes. The 6’3 senior guard committed his fourth foul with 2:35 left in the second quarter. Payne ended up with a team-high 15 points. 6’6 junior Anthony Caccese added 13 points and Teddy Snyder had twelve. He made four of the Eagles’ six 3-pointers. Exeter drops to (9-5, 4-3). Finally, I asked Flowers about the Cowboys-49ers playoff game. He’s a big Dallas fan. The Cowboys are eliminated, but the Muhls got back on track versus Exeter which put a smile on Flowers’ face.