Men's Basketball clinches OAC Tournament berth

Men's Basketball clinches OAC Tournament berth

The Muskingum men's basketball team clinched the eight-seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament slated to begin on Tuesday, February 19. Despite dropping a 98-73 contest at 19th-ranked Marietta, the Muskies sealed a tournament spot following Otterbein's loss against John Carroll.

  • Records: Muskingum (8-16 overall, 4-13 OAC), #19 Marietta (19-5 overall, 13-4 OAC)
  • Location: Marietta, Ohio - Ban Johnson Arena

  • Senior Jayson Peoples led the Muskies with 12 points, shooting 4-for-6 (66.7%) from three-point range.
  • Sophomore Tyler Bardall cashed in 11 points, hitting 57.1% of his shots (4-for-7).
  • Senior Brandon Keyes tallied 10 points and two rebounds.
  • Sophomore Mitch Clark added nine points.
  • As a team, the Muskies went 28-for-64 (43.8%) from the field and 9-for-26 from the arc (34.6%).
  • Tim Kreeger guided the Pioneers in scoring with 21 points, while Caleb Hoyng put up 18 points.
  • Marietta made 54.2% of their shots (39-for-72), went 13-for-32 from the arc (40.6%), and ended the contest shooting 7-for-13 from the free-throw line (53.8%).

  • The teams were neck-and-neck through the opening minutes of play, with neither squad leading by more than three points. At the 11:56 mark, freshman Trey Singleton drilled a jumper to give the Muskies a 20-15 edge. Later, Bardall connected on a basket and pushed Muskingum's advantage to seven points (29-22) with 7:41 left in the half. Marietta countered with a powerful 18-4 run, capped off with a triple from Hoyng at the 2:46 juncture. The Pioneers maintained the lead and entered halftime with a 10-point cushion (48-38).

  • Marietta came out firing in the second half, using a 12-4 span to gain a commanding 18-point lead (60-42) with 16:50 on the clock. Over the next five minutes, the Muskies outscored the Pioneers (13-8) thanks to a pair of free throws from Singleton, making it 68-55. Then, Hoyng knocked down a three-pointer and sparked an 8-0 burst for Marietta, bringing the score to 76-55 with 8:52 left to play. The Pioneers rode this momentum en route to a home victory over the Muskies, 98-73.

  • Muskingum next travels to Ohio Northern on Saturday, February 16. Game time is slated for 3:00 p.m.