The Muskingum men's basketball team fell in a hard fought game against Heidelberg on Saturday evening, 69-62.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-8, 2-6), Heidelberg (6-9, 4-4)
• Location: Seiberling Gymnasium - Tiffin, OH

Notables

• Junior Marcus Dempsey scored a game-high 29 points to move his career point total to 1,819. He currently sits at second place all-time in Muskingum scoring history behind Andy Moore (1988-92) who scored 1,871 career points.
• Dempsey went 10-of-10 (100.0) from the free-throw line which ties the record for best free-throw percentage in game with a minimum of 10 free-throws attempted.

Inside The Numbers

• Dempsey led the Muskies with a game-high 29 points and a team-high seven rebounds. He went a perfect 10-of-10 (100.0) from the charity stripe on the day.
• Junior Alex Masinelli added nine points off the bench for the Muskies.
• Junior Mitch Clark chipped in eight points and grabbed six rebounds for the squad.
• Leading the Student Princes was Tamal Watkins who scored 22 points going 7-of-12 (.583) from the field. 
• The Muskies went nearly perfect from the free-throw line, going 19-of-20 (.950) during the game.
• The Student Princes shot 7-of-10 (.700) from the stripe on the day.
• Heidelberg finished the game with a slight edge in rebounding, 37-35.

Game Highlights

The Muskies and the Student Princes got off to slow starts in the first half with the score being tied, 7-7, in the first five minutes. Heidelberg went on a 10-2 run to increase their lead to 17-9 with 12:20 remaining before halftime. Dempsey tied the game while getting fouled making a lay-up and sinking the free-throw to make it 19-19 with 6:30 remaining after the Muskies went on their own 10-2 run in the first half. Muskingum took their first lead of the game with 4:32 until the half by way of a Masinelli three-pointer. Both teams battled back-and-forth until halftime with the Muskies taking a slim 32-30 lead into the break.

The battle continued between both teams going into the second half with several lead changes and ties in the first seven minutes. The Student Princes saw their largest lead of the game, 57-46, with 7:40 remaining in the contest. With the Muskies being down 62-51 with four minutes remaining, they battled back with an 8-0 run and got within three points, 62-59, with 1:55 left in the game. Dempsey got the Muskies within three once again off a made three-pointer to make the score 65-62 with 34 seconds remaining. The Student Princes made their free-throws down the stretch of the game to pull away in the end.

What's Next 

• The Muskies next look to defend home court when they take on Wilmington in OAC action on Wednesday, January 22. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Anne C. Steele Center.