Men's Basketball narrowly falls to Mount Union

Men's Basketball narrowly falls to Mount Union
The Muskingum men's basketball team narrowly fell to Mount Union on Wednesday night, 83-80.
 
The Basics 
  • Records: Muskingum (6-8 overall, 2-5 OAC), Mount Union (12-2 overall, 6-1 OAC)
  • Location: Alliance, Ohio
Inside the Numbers 
  • Sophomore Mitch Clark led the Muskies' offense with 23 points and pulled down four rebounds. 
  • Junior Cameron Miller notched 17 points and hauled in six rebounds.
  • Senior Jayson Peoples tallied 14 points.
  • Senior Devon Peart added 13 points and four rebounds.
  • As a team, the Muskies went 28-for-52 (53.8%) from the field and 12-for-25 from the arc (48.0%).
  • D'Vontay Friga led Mount Union's offense with 24 points while Diallo Niamke put up 14 points.  
  • Mount Union made 54.7% of their shots (35-for-64), went 8-for-21 from the arc (38.1%), and ended the contest shooting 5-for-9 from the free-throw line (55.6%).
Game Highlights 
  • In the first seven minutes, the teams traded baskets with neither squad leading by more than five points. Then, freshman Trey Singleton hit a jumper to put Muskingum up (19-13) with 12:55 left in the half. The Muskies went on to gain a 10-point edge (28-18) when Miller sank a triple at the 10:26 juncture. Mount Union retaliated by scoring eight unanswered points to make it 28-26 with 8:11 on the clock. Muskingum followed with an 8-2 span after sophomore Tyler Bardall drained a bucket at the 6:07 mark, increasing their lead to eight points (36-28). The Purple Raiders managed to outscore the Muskies (11-8) in the final six minutes of play, cutting the deficit to five points (44-39) at the break.
  • At the start of the second half, Clark knocked down two free throws which sparked a 7-3 burst for the Muskies, putting them up (51-42) at the 17:52 mark. Over the following three minutes, Mount Union answered by outscoring Muskingum (10-5), making it 56-52. Bardall halted the Purple Raiders' momentum when he landed a shot from three-point range at the 13:46 juncture, pushing the Muskies ahead by seven points (59-52). Both teams tallied seven points during the next three minutes of play, bringing the score to 66-59. Mount Union chipped away at Muskingum's lead and sliced the difference to one point (77-76) at the 2:07 juncture. The Purple Raiders slid past the Muskies when Friga hit a three-pointer with four seconds left in the game, securing an 83-80 victory.

Up Next 
  • Muskingum next hosts Heidelberg on Saturday, January 12. Game time is slated for 4:00 p.m.