The Muskingum men's basketball team dropped a road-OAC contest to 17th-ranked Mount Union, 72-61.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (4-12 Overall, 1-8 OAC), Mount Union (12-2 Overall, 6-2 OAC)
• Location: Timken Gymnasium – Alliance, Ohio
• Attendance: 350

How it Happened

• After both teams struggled to find consistent shooting early on, it was Mount Union who built a 17-8 lead with 11:30 remaining in the opening half.
• Mount Union then used a 17-9 surge over seven minutes to build a 34-17 first-half lead.
• Muskingum closed out the half strong, cutting the Purple Raider lead down to 39-25 at halftime.
• The second half saw Muskingum quickly trim the Mount Union lead down to eight. However, the Purple Raiders answered and built a 55-40 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
• Muskingum managed to cut the Mount Union lead down to 10 on multiple occasions but could never get back within striking distance, as the Purple Raiders hung on for their 72-61 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• The Muskies were led by senior Carson Carter, who tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Senior MJ Smith nailed three triples and tallied 13 points for Muskingum, while senior Alex Masinelli also got into double figures with 11 points.
• Sophomore Bradley Russell chipped in nine points for Muskingum.
• Mount Union was led by Christian Parker, who totaled 22 points.
• Muskingum shot 21-of-66 (31.8%) from the field, while Mount Union went 27-of-64 (42.2%).
• Both teams shot an identical 6-of-22 (27.3%) from the three-point line on the night.
• Mount Union scored 22 fast break points compared to nine for the Muskies.

Up Next

• The Muskies will be back in action on Saturday, January 22, when they travel to John Carroll. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.