The Muskingum men's basketball team stumbled against John Carroll in OAC competition on Saturday evening, 100-88.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-10, 2-8), John Carroll (12-5, 5-5)
• Location: Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center - University Heights, OH

Notables

• Junior Marcus Dempsey scored a game-high 35 points to move his career point total to 1,867. He sits at second all-time and is five points away from passing Andy Moore (1988-92) for Muskingum's all-time scoring record. Moore scored 1,871 total points during his tenure as a player.

Inside The Numbers

• Dempsey led the Muskies with 35 points shooting 9-of-19 (.474) from the floor, 4-of-8 (.500) from behind the arc, and went 13-of-15 (.867) from the charity stripe.
• Sophomore Trey Singleton added 17 points going 6-of-10 (.600) from the field and 4-of-4 (100.0) from the free-throw line.
• Sophomore MJ Smith and junior Alex Masinelli each chipped in 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds each.
• Leading the Blue Streaks was Ryan Berger who scored 28 points shooting 9-of-15 (.600) from the floor, 4-of-8 (.500) from downtown, and went 6-of-9 (.667) from the free-throw line.
• Muskingum finished the game going 30-of-62 (.484) from the floor and 18-of-22 (.818) from the charity stripe.
• John Carroll ended the evening shooting 32-of-64 (.500) from the field and shot 23-of-32 (.719) from the free-throw line.
• The Muskies finished out-rebounding the Blue Streaks on the evening, 41-29.

Game Highlights

Both the Muskies and the Blue Streaks got off to quick starts trading baskets and lead changes within the first ten minutes of the game. With the score in favor of John Carroll 30-28, the Muskies would go on a 10-0 run to make the score 38-30 with 7:55 remaining in the first half. The Muskies continued to hold on to their lead for the rest of the first half heading into halftime with a 48-44 lead.

The battle back and forth continued into the second half with the Muskies holding onto their lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second half, until the Blue Streaks would once again regain the lead 68-66 with twelve minutes remaining in the game. At that point, John Carroll went on an 8-0 run to climb the lead to double digits with ten minutes remaining, while also seeing their largest lead of the game at the 7:20 mark, 83-70. The closest Muskingum got again was 91-85 with two minutes remaining in the game until John Carroll pulled away in the end.

What's Next

• The Muskies next look to defend home court when they take on Capital in OAC action on Wednesday, January 29. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Anne C. Steele Center.