Men’s Basketball slips at Ohio Wesleyan

The Muskingum men's basketball team dropped a close contest to Ohio Wesleyan, 86-82.

The Basics
• Records: Muskingum (1-1), Ohio Wesleyan (1-1)
• Location: Branch Rickey Arena – Delaware, OH
• Attendance: 455

The Difference
• After both teams played evenly to open the game, Ohio Wesleyan was able to gain momentum and open up an eight-point lead midway through the first half.
• Muskingum would cut the Battling Bishops' lead back down to five, but Ohio Wesleyan would rebound and push their lead up to 12 with three minutes left in the half.
• Muskingum would go on a 9-4 run to close the first half and trim the Ohio Wesleyan lead to seven heading into the break.
• Riding their late first-half momentum, Muskingum got out to a strong start to the second half. The Muskies would chip away at the deficit before taking a lead of their own with 14 minutes left in the game on a Noah Tomlinson tip-in layup.
• Muskingum pushed their lead to six on a Noah Begue three-pointer with 10:32 left in the contest, but Ohio Wesleyan would go on a run of their own and retake the lead with 6:16 remaining.
• Trailing by five points with under three minutes remaining, Muskingum would eventually battle back to tie the game on an MJ Smith three-pointer with 1:37 remaining.
• However, aided by solid free-throw shooting and timely buckets in the closing minutes, Ohio Wesleyan would escape with an 86-82 win.

Inside the Numbers
• The Muskies were led by senior Alex Masinelli, who registered a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds.
• Senior MJ Smith tallied 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists for Muskingum.
• Sophomore Evan Boatwright registered 12 points and four rebounds for the Muskies.
• Junior Noah Begue drilled three triples to tally nine points, while senior Noah Tomlinson dished out a team-high four assists for Muskingum.
• Ohio Wesleyan was led by Jack Clement with 21 points.
• Muskingum shot 30-of-61 (49.2%) from the field compared to 32-of-64 (50%) for Ohio Wesleyan.
• The Muskies shot 8-of-18 (44.4%) from the three-point line, while Ohio Wesleyan shot 10-of-27 (37%).
• The Battling Bishops outrebounded the Muskies 38-28 on the night.
• Muskingum finished with 28 bench points compared to 19 for Ohio Wesleyan.

Up Next
• The Muskies will hit the court again on Saturday, November 20, when they take on Trine. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in the Anne C. Steele Center.