The Muskingum men's basketball team used a strong team effort to beat three-seed Mount Union in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday night, 88-81. With the win, Muskingum advances to the OAC Tournament Final Four on Thursday, March 4. The Muskies will play at the five-seed Ohio Northern at 7:00 p.m.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (5-8), Mount Union (8-4)
• Location: The MAAC - Alliance, Ohio

Notables

• Muskingum's win at Mount Union marked the Muskies' first victory in Alliance since the 2011-12 campaign.
• This marks Muskingum's first trip to the OAC Tournament Final Four since the 2017-18 season. 

Inside The Numbers

• Junior MJ Smith led the Muskies with 21 points while going 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the three-point line.
• Junior Trey Singleton added 16 points off the bench and dished out a team-high five assists.
• Senior Alex Masinelli chipped in 12 points and grabbed four rebounds during the contest.
• Muskingum also saw junior Carson Carter and junior Da'Ray Menefield score 11 points each off the bench.
• As a team, the Muskies shot 32-of-54 (.593) from the field and went 9-of-20 (.450) from behind the arc.
• Collen Gurley led the Purple Raiders with 26 points and snatched four rebounds.
• Ethan Stanislawski added 14 points and handed out five assists on the night.
• As a team, Mount Union went 21-of-71 (.380) from the floor and shot 10-of-32 (.313) from downtown.

The Difference

• Muskingum led 13-8 after the first five minutes.
• Mount Union used a 15-0 run to take a 23-13 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
• The Muskies answered the Purple Raider run with a 22-10 surge to end the half, which was highlighted by back-to-back-to-back triples by MJ Smith.
• Mount Union regained the lead with an 8-0 run to start the second half.
• Muskingum took back the lead, 51-49, off a Da'Ray Menefield lay-up with less than 14 minutes remaining in the game.
• Once the Muskies regained the lead, they used a 22-6 run to take control of the contest and see their largest lead of the night at 17.
• The Muskies ended the outing with a 44-14 edge in bench points.
• Muskingum shared the wealth, dishing out 18 assists for the game.
• Helping the Muskies was a 38-34 advantage in the paint and 17 fast break points.