UPSET CITY! Muskies stun 2-seed John Carroll in OAC Tournament

The Muskingum men's basketball team stunned two-seeded John Carroll Tuesday evening with a last second three-point shot from freshman Marcus Dempsey to propel the Muskies to a thrilling 69-68 win in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. With the win, Muskingum advances to the Semifinals of the OAC Tournament and will travel to six-seed Baldwin Wallace on Thursday, February 23. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. 

The Basics 

• Records: Muskingum (14-12 overall), John Carroll (17-8 overall)
• Location: University Heights, Ohio - DeCarlo Center

Inside the Numbers

• To open the contest, Muskingum used a balanced attack to claim the early 10-1 lead.
• The Blue streaks responded using an 8-0 run over the next minute and a half to cut the deficit to 10-9.
• John Carroll claimed its first lead of the contest at the 6:25 mark following a momentum-changing three-pointer by Simon Kucharewicz.
• The Muskies continued to fight as senior Joshua Glass was able to force a Blue Streak turnover and connect with Dempsey in transition to put Muskingum back on top 28-25 with 3:36 remaining.
• The Blue Streaks closed out the half on an 8-2 run to take the 33-30 halftime lead.
• Muskingum found its stroke from behind the arc in the second half as senior Rickey Wilson knocked down a three-pointer to tie the contest at 33-33. 
• John Carroll captured its largest lead of the game with 14:43 remaining off a deep ball from Ryan Berger, 43-38.
• Muskingum rallied using an 8-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Jacob Geller to regain the lead with 9:58 to play, 49-46.
• Senior Joshua Keyes stretched the Blue Streak defense as he stepped out and knocked down a three-pointer to extend the Muskie advantage with 7:58 remaining, 55-49.
• John Carroll slowly whittled away at the Muskingum lead tying the contest at 66-66 with just under two minutes to play.
• The Blue Streaks rocked the DeCarlo Center with 13 seconds remaining as Antonio Vuyancih was able to beat the Muskie defense en route to the 68-66 advantage.
• With three seconds remaining, Muskingum silenced the John Carroll faithful as Dempsey, through double coverage, delivered the game-winning dagger stunning two-seeded John Carroll, 69-68. 

Game Notes 

• Muskingum finished with four players in double figures.
• Dempsey finished with a team-high 15 points and dished out five assists.
• Keyes notched his career 23rd double-double scoring 13 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
• Glass and sophomore Jarrell Marsh finished with 12 points each.
• As a team, Muskingum finished 27-for-64 (.422) from the field, including seven three-pointers.
• The Blue Streaks were led by Ryan Berger with a game-high 18 points.
• Kucharewicz finished with 11 points, while Vuyancih added 10 points.
• John Carroll edged the Muskies in rebounds by a 47-39 margin.
• The contest saw eight lead changes and was tied nine times.