The Muskingum men's basketball team fell in a tough battle in OAC play against Heidelberg Saturday evening, 78-69.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (8-13, 3-11), Heidelberg (10-11, 8-6)
• Location: Anne C. Steele Center - New Concord
• Attendance: 550

Notables

• Junior Marcus Dempsey scored a game-high 30 points to climb his career point total to 1,998 points. Dempsey is now just two points away from becoming Muskingum's first 2,000 point scorer in program history.
• Dempsey tied the record for best free-throw percentage in game with a minimum of 10 free-throws going 14-14 (100.0) during the game.
• The Muskies also honored Hall of Fame inductees Tom Dillard '66 (Football), Trent Cubbinson '89 (Track & Field), Jamie Eastham Jones '05 (Track & Field), and Kim Tackett '07 (Softball) during halftime.

Inside The Numbers

• Dempsey led the Muskies with 30 points while also grabbing six rebounds. He ended the game going 7-of-25 (.280) from the floor and a perfect 14-of-14 (100.0) from the charity stripe.
• Junior Alex Masinelli added a career-high 20 points and snatched a team-high 10 rebounds. He went 7-of-14 (.500) from the field and shot 5-of-9 (.555) from the three-point line.
• Junior Mitch Clark chipped in 11 points going 4-of-7 (.571) from the floor.
• Leading the Student Princes was Tamal Watkins and Dylan Woods who both scored 15 points on the evening.
• Muskingum finished the game shooting 18-of-19 (.947) from the free-throw line.
• Heidelberg ended the evening going 15-of-23 (.652) from the charity stripe.
• Both the Muskies and the Student Princes each grabbed 37 team rebounds.

Game Highlights

To start the game, the Muskies and the Student Princes battled back and forth within the first eight minutes of the game trading leads and baskets. At the 12:10 mark, Heidelberg went on a 11-4 run to take a 20-12 lead and control of the game. The Muskies battled back to get within four points, 24-20, but the Student Princes went on a 10-4 run to finish the first half and take a double-digit lead into halftime, 34-24.

In the first seven minutes of the second half, the Muskies fought back from their double-digit deficit to get win three points, 42-39. Heidelberg answered with small runs of their own and climb their lead back to 13, 56-43, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and continued to hold on to their lead for the rest of the contest.

What's Next

• The Muskies next hit the road to take on Wilmington in OAC action on Wednesday, February 12. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Fred Raizk Arena.