The Muskingum men's basketball team could not complete the second-half comeback as Capital came out on top, 86-78, Wednesday night at The Capital Center.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-11 overall, 5-6 Ohio Athletic Conference), Capital (9-9 overall, 5-6 Ohio Athletic Conference)
• Location: Columbus, Ohio – The Capital Center

Notables

• Sophomore Marcus Dempsey erupted for a game-best 36 points and now stands at 973 career points. He is only 27 points shy of becoming the 32nd Muskie to score 1,000 career points.

Inside the Numbers  

• Marcus Dempsey exploded with 36 points on 11-of-18 shooting, which included 6-of-9 from the arc. He also added a team-best seven rebounds.
• Devon Peart tied a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, and collected two steals.
• Jacob Geller notched a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
• Muskingum shot .446 (25-of-56) from the field, made nine three-pointers, went 19-for-25 at the free throw line (.760), and held a 31-30 edge in rebounds.
• All five starters for Capital scored in double-digits.
• Austin Schreck led the Crusaders offense with 22 points.
• Will Hannah accrued 19 points, Joey Weingartner tallied 16, while Cameron Caldwell and Caleb Fox each posted 10 points.  
• Capital concluded the contest shooting .492 (30-of-61) from the field, 8-of-18 (.444) from the arc, and went 18-for-21 (.857) from the free throw line.

Game Highlights

Capital jumped to a 9-0 run to start the contest, but a three-pointer by Dempsey at the 17:13 marker ended the outing. Another trey from Dempsey and a jumper by Geller got the Muskies within six points with 11:36 to go in the first half. From the 7:12 marker until the end of the first, the Crusaders outscored the Muskies 22-14 to close out the frame with a 50-33 lead at intermission. Dempsey scored the first 13 points and finished the first half with 17 points.   

A layup by Peart and two made free throws by Jalen Paige got the Muskies offense going in the second half. A trey by Austin Schreck gave the Crusaders a 16 point lead, 75-59, with 6:49 left in regulation. For the next several minutes, Muskingum mustered its way back by outscoring Capital, 19-6, to fall within three points, 81-78, with 1:24 to go. The Crusaders held off the Muskies down the stretch connecting on 5-of-5 from the charity stripe in the final 46 seconds to win by eight.

Up Next

• Muskingum will return to the Anne C. Steele Center on Saturday, January 27 for a 2:00 p.m. contest against John Carroll.