Marcus Dempsey scored his 1,000 career point and broke the most points scored in a season record as the Muskingum men's basketball team won a thrilling 112-103 victory over the NCAA Division III #23 John Carroll in the loud and electric Anne C. Steele Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (8-11 overall, 6-6 Ohio Athletic Conference), John Carroll (15-4 overall, 9-3 Ohio Athletic Conference)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio – Anne C. Steele Center

Notables

• Sophomore Marcus Dempsey became the 32nd Muskingum men's basketball player to reach 1,000 career points with a 39-point effort against John Carroll. He achieved his milestone in his 46th career game, averaging 22.0 points per game. Marcus also broke the most points scored in a season record in the second half off a layup at the 11:26 marker. The previous record was 559 points set in 1990-1991 by Andy Moore. After today's performance, he has tallied 570 points this season.
• Muskingum has now beaten two top-25 ranked schools at home this season. Muskingum defeated then 22nd-ranked Baldwin Wallace, 91-78, on December 9, 2017, and 23rd-ranked John Carroll today.

Inside the Numbers  

• Three Muskies scored in double-digits.
• Marcus Dempsey blasted 39 points on 11-of-19 shooting, which included 4-of-8 from the arc. He also recorded his first double-double of the season by snagging 12 rebounds and adding four assists and two steals.
• Devon Peart scored a career-high 34 points on 9-of-13 shooting, which included going a perfect 2-for-2 from the arc. He also added five rebounds and two steals.
• Jayson Peoples also notched a career-high 17 points, on 5-of-7 shooting from the arc.  
• Jalen Paige dished out a team-best six assists.
• Muskingum shot phenomenally as they made .554 (31-of-56) from the field (highest percentage this season), .577 (15-of-26) from the arc (highest percentage this season), and went 35-for-39 at the free throw line (.897).
• Five John Carroll players scored in double-digits.
• Antonio Vuyancih led the Blue Streaks offense with 20 points.
• Matthew Csuhran led the reserves with 18 points, John Cirillo contributed with 14 points, while Jimmy Berger and Ryan Berger each posted 13 points.  
• John Carroll ended the game shooting .419 (36-of-86) from the field, made 14 three-pointers, and went 17-for-21 (.810) from the free throw line.

Game Highlights

During the first five minutes of action, the two teams exchanged lead changes and ties several times, until John Carroll went on an 13-4 run from the 14:01 marker until 10:33 to go in the first half to lead by double-digits, 28-18. Muskingum battled back as Peoples drained back-to-back-to-back three's to tie the game at 46-46 with 3:23 remaining. Dempsey netted the last four points of the frame for the Muskies to tie the contest 50-50 at intermission. Dempsey led all-scorers with 22 points in the first half and needed five more to reach 1,000 career points and seven more to break the most points scored in a season record.   

John Carroll scored the first four points in the second half and held the 60-58 advantage until the 15:37 marker when Dempsey tied the contest at 60-60 off a layup. With 12:37 remaining in the game, Dempsey drained two free throws to register his 1,000 career point and then set the most points scored in a season record a minute later off a layup. The Muskies found themselves down 79-75 with 10:06 on the clock, but a 14-0 run, which included two trey's from Dempsey and one from Peoples, lifted Muskingum to an 89-79 lead with 6:10 to go. From that moment until the end of the game, Muskingum never gave up the lead en route to securing the victory over 23-ranked John Carroll.

Up Next

• Muskingum will return to the court on Wednesday, January 31 for a 7:00 p.m. contest at Wilmington.