Comeback falls short as Men’s Basketball falls to Thiel

On the final day of the Westminster Tipoff Classic, the Muskingum men's basketball team fought a hard battle against Thiel, but fell in a heartbreaking contest by the final score of 85-84. Marcus Dempsey was named to the Buzz Ridl Team after his outstanding two-day performance as he registered 58 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.  

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (0-2 overall), Thiel (2-0 overall)
• Location: New Wilmington, Pennsylvania – Buzz Ridl Gymnasium

Inside the Numbers

• Jarrell Marsh notched his first double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while tossing four assists.
• Marcus Dempsey had the hot hand as he recorded a team-best 32 points, going 13-for-22 (59.1%) from the field, making 6-of-8 (75%) from the arc, and grabbed six total rebounds.
• Jacob Geller tallied 11 points and added four rebounds.
• Jalen Paige dished out three assists and chipped in five points.
• The team made 6-of-10 free throws, while shooting 32-for-74 (43.2%) from the field, and 14-for-40 from the arc (35%).
• Three Tomcat players knotted double-digit scoring.
• Tyreik Burton finished with a double-double to lead the Tomcats offense with 24 points, 10 rebounds, while Josh Lumbus added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Nyric Gosley contributed 14 points.  
• As a team, Thiel went 13-for-19 (68.4%) at the free-throw line, 49.3% from the field (33-for-67), and 33.3% from the arc (6-for-18).  

Game Highlights

The Muskies and Tomcats traded off baskets constantly throughout the first half with the largest lead being at the 3:43 marker as Thiel lead, 36-30. Muskingum cut the deficit in half with a Jayson People three-pointer at the 2:26 marker, making it Tomcats 36-33. Alonzo Brown sneaked in a layup for the Tomcats with 32 seconds remaining. The Muskies answered right back as Dempsey made a three-pointer at the 12-second mark. Thiel shot 43.2% from the field to Muskingum's 41.2% to hold onto the 38-36 lead at intermission.

The Muskies took their first lead of the second half at the 18:53 marker off a Dempsey layup. From that point, the Tomcats took control, leading by as much as 12 points, 71-59, with under eight minutes left in the contest. Muskingum fought their way back as they sparked an 18-6 run to tie the game at 81-81 with 30 seconds remaining. Tyrese Robinson collected a clutch jumper with two seconds left and made a pair of free throws after stealing the inbounds pass to make it, 85-81. Muskingum completed the scoring on Jacob Geller's three-pointer to make it 85-84 as the horn sounded. 

Up Next

• Muskingum will play their home opener on Saturday, November 25 against non-conference opponent Washington & Jefferson. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.