Four Muskies reach double figures as Men’s Basketball tops Mount Union

Marcus Dempsey, Devon Peart, Rashay Douglas and Jayson Peoples all notched double-digit scoring to lift the Muskingum men's basketball team to a 97-89 victory against Mount Union on Wednesday night.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (7-9 overall, 5-4 Ohio Athletic Conference), Mount Union (9-7 overall, 5-4 Ohio Athletic Conference)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio – Anne C. Steele Center

Inside the Numbers  

• Marcus Dempsey paced the Muskies offense with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, which included 3-of-6 from the arc. He also added five rebounds and three steals.
• Devon Peart accrued 19 points, a team-best seven rebounds, and three steals.
• Rashay Douglas tied a season-high 14 points.
• Jayson Peoples added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, which included hitting two three-point shots.
• Jalen Paige and Jacob Geller each collected nine points.
• Muskingum shot .527 (29-of-55) from the field, the second highest shooting percentage in a game this season, made seven three-pointers, and went 32-for-40 at the free throw line (.800). The Muskies also held a 35-28 advantage in rebounds.
• Four Mount Union players recorded double-digit scoring.
• JJ Kukura led the Raiders with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
• Nathan Bower-Malone tallied 18 points, while D'Vontay Friga added 17 points, and Miles Griffin had 11 points.
• Mount Union finished the game shooting .514 (36-of-70) from the field and made 12 three pointers.

Game Highlights

Muskingum's offense looked sharp to start the contest as they went on a 10-4 run during the first three minutes of play. The Muskies held the lead through much of the first half until the Raiders went on to score seven straight points to take the 31-30 advantage with 6:42 to go. Dempsey drained back-to-back threes in the last minute of the first half to give Muskingum the 53-48 lead at intermission. Both the Muskies and Raiders shot exceptionally well in the first half as Muskingum made .586 from the field, while Mount Union hit .594 from the field.

The Muskies played hard and aggressive on both ends of the court in the second half, which showed as Muskingum never gave up the lead. The closest Mount Union got was within one, 68-67, with 10:47 on the clock. In the final minute, Muskingum made eight free throws to secure the 97-89 win over Mount Union.

Up Next

• Muskingum returns to action Saturday, January 20 as they travel to Baldwin Wallace. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.