#16 Marietta defeats Men's Basketball

The Muskingum men's basketball team fell to #16 Marietta in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night, 102-82.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (8-16, 3-14), #16 Marietta (20-4, 14-3)
• Location: Anne C. Steele Center - New Concord, OH
• Attendance: 650

Notables

• During halftime, Muskingum University, President Susan S. Hasseler, Vice President and Athletic Director Steve Brockelbank honored the 2019 Muskingum volleyball championship team. The Muskies finished the fall season 27-4 overall with an 8-1 slate in the OAC. The Muskies secured a share of the Ohio Athletic Conference Regular-Season Championship, made their 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament, and ranked as high as 11th in the AVCA Division III Top 25 Poll.

Inside The Numbers

• Junior Marcus Dempsey led the Muskies with a game-high 39 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists. He ended the game shooting 14-of-24 (..583) from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 (100.0) from the charity stripe. 
• Sophomore Trey Singleton added nine points off the bench going 4-of-9 (..444) from the field. 
• Junior Tyler Bardall and freshman Tanner Gensler both chipped in six points for the Muskies.
• Leading the Pioneers was Caleb Hoyng with 26 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. He finished going 11-of-18 (.611) from the floor. 
• Muskingum finished the game shooting 30-of-70 (.429) from the floor and 12-of-13 (.923) from the free-throw line. 
• Marietta ended the night going 36-of-69 (.522) from the field and 17-of-20 (.850) from the charity stripe.
• The Pioneers finished outrebounding the Muskies, 42-33.

Game Highlights

With the Muskies and the Pioneers going back and forth for most of the first half, Marietta held a four point lead, 39-35, with less than five minutes remaining until halftime. Dempsey drained a three-point shot to get within one and then on the next Muskie possession junior Mitch Clark made a lay-up while being fouled to convert an and-one opportunity and give Muskingum a 41-40 lead with 3:54 remaining in the first half. The Muskies gained their largest lead of the game, 45-41, after Dempsey converted two free-throws with 2:30 left until halftime. The Pioneers then went on a 11-0 run to end the first half with Christian James drilling a last second three-pointer to give Marietta a 52-45 lead at half.

The Pioneers continued with the momentum they ended with in the first half starting with a 10-5 run to make the score, 62-48, with 16:46 remaining in the game. Marietta increased their lead on several runs throughout the second half to seal the game in the end.

What's Next

• The Muskies wrap up the season at home for Senior Night against Ohio Northern on Saturday, February 22. Game time is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Anne C. Steele Center.