Men's Basketball suffers a loss to #8 Marietta

• Records: Muskingum (4-5 overall, 1-4 OAC), #8 Marietta (10-0 overall, 6-0 OAC)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio - Anne C. Steele Center

Notables

• The broadcast was produced by NKT Productions and featured four cameras, three channel instant replays, a play-by-play commentator, and Muskingum senior and WMCO Sports Director Michael Pagano on color commentary. Muskingum Vice President and Athletic Director Steve Brockelbank was the featured on-air halftime guest.

• Sophomore Mitch Clark led the Muskies with a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Senior Jalen Paige scored 11 points and pulled down four rebounds.
• Freshman MJ Smith put up seven points, shooting 3-for-6 (50.0%) from the field.
• Senior Jayson Peoples added six points.
• As a team, the Muskies went 23-for-60 (38.3%) from the field and 6-for-26 from the arc (23.1%).
• Jason Ellis guided Marietta's offense with 14 points and Anthony Wallace contributed 13 points. 
• Marietta made 42.3% of their shots (30-for-71), went 10-for-30 from the arc (33.3%), and ended the contest shooting 19-for-24 from the free-throw line (79.2%).

• Marietta opened the game with a 9-2 burst after Mason Lydic knocked down a three-pointer at the 14:21 mark. Clark answered for the Muskies when he drained a long-distance shot which ignited a 10-3 spurt, tying the game at 12 with 10:22 left in the half. Over the next seven minutes, the teams traded baskets with neither squad leading by more than two points. Then, at the 3:26 juncture, Ellis hit a triple for Marietta and sparked a 9-0 run to put the Pioneers on top, 34-26. Marietta managed to stay in front during the final minutes of play and went into the break with a four-point lead (34-30) over Muskingum.

• In the second half, Marietta came out hot with a 15-5 span, putting them up (48-35) thanks to a layup from Keith Richardson with 15:07 remaining. Muskingum was able to narrowly outscore the Pioneers (15-14) over the next six minutes after senior Devon Peart cashed in a free throw with 9:23 on the clock, making it 62-50. Marietta followed with a 13-4 run after Tim Kreeger drilled a mid-range jumper with 6:29 to play, giving the Pioneers a 21-point cushion (75-54) en route to the road win.

• Muskingum next travels to Waynesburg on Saturday, December 22. Game time is slated for 1:30 p.m.