The Muskingum men's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion in their home opener against Capital on a last-second shot Saturday night, 73-72. With the loss, Muskingum and Capital split the home/home series that saw the Muskies beat the Crusaders on Friday night on a last-second shot, 58-55.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (1-1, 1-1), Capital (1-1, 1-1)
• Location: Anne C. Steele Center - New Concord

Inside The Numbers

• Junior MJ Smith led the Muskies with a team-high 19 points and snatched three rebounds.
• Senior Alex Masinelli added 16 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
• Junior Trey Singleton chipped in 14 points off the bench for Muskingum.
• Senior Mitch Clark and sophomore Tanner Gensler each grabbed six boards.
• Junior Da'Ray Menefield recorded a team-best three assists and scored four points.
• As a team, the Muskies went 24-of-52 (46.2%) from the field and went 9-of-15 (60.0%) from behind the arc. 
• Leading the Crusaders was Carter Combs with team-high 21 points.
• Joe Hartmann added 15 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
• As a team, Capital went 27-of-57 (47.4%) from the floor and shot 8-of-20 (40.0%) from behind the arc.

Game Highlights

The Muskies started strong racing out to a 15-4 lead within the first five minutes of the contest. Muskingum held on to its advantage for most of the first half until the Crusaders started chipping away at their deficit and climbed to within, 26-23, with eight minutes remaining in the opening frame. Muskingum regained the momentum over the final minutes en route to taking a 43-32 edge into the break.

Muskingum grabbed control of the game through the opening seven minutes of the second half when the Muskies ballooned their lead to 17 points (55-38). Capital answered the Muskie surge with a 23-6 spurt to tie the game at 61-61 with seven minutes on the clock. Both teams battled back-and-forth in the final minutes with the Muskies taking a 72-68 lead with 1:56 remaining. The Crusaders scored the final five points to stun the Muskies with Keandre Graves making the final basket with less than a second on the clock while being fouled to setup the game-winning free throw to give Capital the 73-72 win.

Up Next

The Muskies look to defend their home court when they host Wilmington in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Friday, January 29. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Anne C. Steele Center with the pregame show starting at 6:50 p.m. on the Muskie Sports Network located on fightingmuskies.com.