The Muskingum men's basketball team used a strong second half to beat Otterbein on Saturday, 76-71. The win was the third straight for the Muskies.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (4-4 overall, 3-1 OAC), Otterbein (0-9 overall, 0-4 OAC)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio – Anne C. Steele Center

Notables

• Junior Jarrell Marsh erupted for a game-best 26 points and now stands at 984 career points. He's only 16 points shy of becoming the 31st Muskie to score 1,000 career points.

Inside the Numbers

• Marsh led all scorers with 26 points, hitting 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from the arc, and finished with a team-best nine rebounds.
• Sophomore Marcus Dempsey poured out 20 points, three assists, and two steals.
• Junior Brandon Keyes chipped in six points and five rebounds.
• As a team, Muskingum went 27-for-63 (.429) from the field, 6-for-23 from the arc (.261), and 16-for-23 at the free throw line (.696).
• The Cardinals were led by Justin Carter who finished the contest with 17 points and seven rebounds.
• Corey Howard added 16 points, while Connor Clark also came off the bench to notch 13 points and five rebounds.
• Otterbein made .469 of their shots (30-for-64) and went 10-for-29 from the arc (.345).

Game Highlights

The first 11 minutes of action produced an even scoring field between both teams as each took turns recording baskets and lead changes. At the 9:12 mark, the Cardinals offense started flowing as they collected a jumper and three back-to-back-to-back three pointers to take a 34-25 lead with 6:56 left in the first. The Muskies answered the Cardinal surge and closed out the half on a 13-4 run to tie the game at 38-38 heading into the break. Muskingum's late run was highlighted by Dempsey who scored 10 points.

Through the first 15 minutes of play in the second half, there were seven lead changes and nine ties. Muskingum took control with 4:46 left as Marsh drilled a three-pointer to give the Muskies a 67-64 lead. From that point forward, Muskingum never gave up the lead and hit clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Up Next

• Muskingum will take a break from OAC action and host non-conference foe Waynesburg on Wednesday, December 20. Tip-off is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.