The Muskingum men's basketball team tamed the Mount St. Joseph Lions on Sunday afternoon, 92-69.

The Basics
• Records: Muskingum (2-1), Mount St. Joseph (1-3)
• Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Inside the Numbers
• Junior Marcus Dempsey led the team with a season-high of 34 points and notched seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
• Senior Jayson Peoples poured out 17 points, shooting 6-for-11 from the field.
• Senior Devon Peart tallied nine points.
• Senior Jalen Paige added eights points, five rebounds and four assists.
• As a team, the Muskies went 34-for-62 (54.8%) from the field and 11-for-27 from the arc (40.7%).
• Jake Cropper led the Lions offense with 21 points, Mitch Moorhead tallied 12 points, and Devin Young had 11 points.
• Mount St. Joseph made 40.4% of their shots (21-for-52), went 4-for-23 from the arc (17.4%), and ended the contest going 23-for-31 from the free-throw line (74.2%).

Game Highlights
Muskingum and Mount St. Joseph traded baskets in the first seven minutes of play with neither team leading by more than four points. Dempsey hit a jumper at the 12:41 mark to give the Muskies a six-point lead, 18-12. The Lions answered with an 8-2 run to make it 20-18. Muskingum regained control with 6:02 remaining when Peart made a layup to achieve a 10-point advantage, 32-22. The Muskies gained a 13-point lead at the 2:08 mark off a layup from sophomore Tyler Bardall, making it 41-28. Dempsey knocked down a jumper at the end of the half to make it 46-32.

In the second half, Peoples drained a three-pointer which sparked a 12-4 run to put the Muskies up 58-36 with 15:17 remaining. At this time, Mount St. Joseph received a technical foul. The Muskies continued to control play and established a 23-point lead at the 12:49 mark off a three-point shot from Peart, making it 66-43. The Lions went on a 9-0 run to cut the Muskie lead down to 13 points with 5:32 remaining, 77-64. Peart made a layup and tipped the momentum back towards the Muskies as they used a 12-2 run to make it 89-66 with 3:07 left to play. Muskingum went on to win the game 92-69. 

Up Next
Muskingum next opens OAC play against Baldwin Wallace at home on December 1. Game time is slotted for 2:00 p.m.