Men's Basketball gets fifth straight win in nail-biting finish

The Muskingum men's basketball team earned a victory in the final seconds over Wisconsin-River Falls in the D3Hoops.com Classic on Monday night, 72-70.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-3, 2-1)
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Notables

• Junior Marcus Dempsey scored a game-high 28 points to move his career point total to 1,651. He currently ranks third all-time in Muskingum scoring behind Gene Ford (1970-74) with 1,717 points.
• The win marks the fifth straight victory for the Muskies.
• The Muskies end the D3Hoops.com Classic going, 2-0.

Inside The Numbers

• Dempsey led Muskingum with a game-high 28 points and dished out a team-high five assists. He shot 9-of-26 (.346) from the field, 4-of-8 (.500) from behind the arc, and 6-of-10 (.600) from the free-throw line.
• Sophomore Trey Singleton added 16 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. He went 6-of-13 (.461) from the floor and 2-of-6 (.333) from the three-point line while a making the game-winning three-pointer with six seconds remaining in the game.
• Sophomore Carson Carter chipped in seven points off the bench going 3-of-4 (.750) from the field.
• Julian Jackson led Wisconsin-River Falls with 25 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. He shot 8-of-16 (.500) from the field, 2-of-2 (1.00) from behind the arc, and 7-of-10 (.700) from the charity stripe.
• The Muskies ended the game shooting 25-of-60 (.417) from the floor and 11-of-25 (.440) from downtown.
• Wisconsin-River Falls finished shooting 25-of-60 (.417) from the field and 4-of-16 (.250) from behind the arc.
• The Falcons ended the night out-rebounding the Muskies, 42-31.

Game Highlights

Both teams got off to quick starts with-in the first six minutes of the game until the Muskies started to widen the gap and lead, 25-13, with 11:41 remaining in the first-half. The Muskies would keep a hold of their 12-point lead heading into half-time, 38-26.

The start of the second-half would see the Falcons mount a strong comeback and tying the game up at 51-51 with 10:33 remaining in the game. The Muskies and the Falcons would continue to go back-and-forth for the rest of the second-half trading leads and tying the game multiple times with clutch baskets made by several players on both sides. The biggest basket of the game would come with Muskingum down 69-70 with 40 seconds left in the game and Singleton draining a three-pointer to take a 72-70 lead with six seconds left on the clock. Wisconsin-River Falls' Jack Stensgard would shoot one last three for the win, but it would not fall as the Muskies would end up holding on in nail-biting fashion, 72-70.

What's Next

• The Muskies next return to New Concord and look to defend home court as they take on Otterbein in OAC action on Saturday, January 4. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. in the Anne C. Steele Center.