The Muskingum men's basketball team fell to Otterbein in OAC action on Saturday afternoon, 86-71.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-4, 2-2), Otterbein (4-7, 1-3)
• Location: New Concord
• Attendance: 375

Notables

• Junior Marcus Dempsey scored a game-high 35 points to increase his career point total to 1,686. He currently ranks third all-time in Muskingum scoring behind Gene Ford (1970-74) who scored 1,717 career points.
• The Cardinals snapped the Muskies five-game winning streak.

Inside The Numbers

• Dempsey led Muskingum with 35 points and dished out a team-high seven assists. He went 9-of-20 (.450) the floor, 3-of-8 (.375) from the three-point line, and 14-of-17 (.823) from the charity stripe.
• Sophomore Trey Singleton added 13 points going 6-of-16 (.375) from the field.
• Sophomore MJ Smith chipped in with nine points shooting 3-of-5 (.600) from behind the arc.
• Leading the Cardinals was Dallas Patrick with 20 points going 8-of-15 (.533) from the floor and 4-for-4 (100.0) from the free-throw line.
• The Muskies ended the game shooting 21-of-57 (.368) from the field and 8-of-28 (.286) from downtown.
• Otterbein ended the day going 30-of-58 (.517) from the floor and 9-of-19 (.474) from the three-point line.
• The Cardinals finished out-rebounding the Muskies, 39-27.

Game Highlights

The Muskies got off to a quick 12-0 start in the first five minutes of the game, but the fast start vanished as the Cardinals went on a 21-4 run to take the lead, 21-16, with 7:56 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals would see their lead grow throughout the first-half, as large as 13 points. The Muskies would battle back though and Otterbein would head into halftime with a 40-35 lead. 

Otterbein started the second half on a fast 8-0 spurt to increase its lead to 48-35. The Cardinals used their fast start to control the rest of the second half as the Muskies would try to chip away at their deficit but to no avail, as the Cardinals would hold on and win, 86-71.

What's Next

• The Muskies next hit the road as they take on #8 Marietta in OAC play on Wednesday, January 8. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Ban Johnson Arena.