Men’s Basketball overtime thriller against rival Marietta energizes the Anne C. Steele Center on Valentine’s Day

The Muskingum men's basketball showcased a phenomenal performance in their Valentine's Day overtime thriller versus rival Marietta, but lost a heartbreaking 107-100 game in the loud and energetic Anne C. Steele Center on Wednesday night.  

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (9-15 overall, 7-10 Ohio Athletic Conference), Marietta (19-5 overall, 13-4 Ohio Athletic Conference)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio – Anne C. Steele Center

Notables:

• This was the Muskies first overtime game of the season.
• Muskingum has put on a 100 plus point performance in three games this season.
• Muskingum is currently tied for sixth, along with Wilmington and Capital, in the league with a 7-10 record.

Inside the Numbers  

• Marcus Dempsey blasted 42 points on 17-of-32 shooting, while adding five rebounds, and three assists. This was Dempsey's fourth time this season where he tallied 40 plus points in a game.
• Jacob Geller netted a season-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and snagged a career-high 14 rebounds (eight offensive and six defensive).
• Devon Peart accrued 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, which included going 6-for-8 at the free throw line, and grabbed six rebounds.
• Jayson Peoples led the reserves with seven points.
• Muskingum shot an impressive .500 (37-of-74) from the field, made 11 three-pointers, and went 15-for-20 at the free throw line (.750).
• Five Marietta players tallied double-digit scoring.
• Dillon Young scored 29 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Pioneers.
• Caleb Hoyng and Anthony Wallace came off the bench to collect 19 and 16 points, respectively.
• Avery Williams posted a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kyle Dixon chipped in 11 points.
• Marietta ended the game shooting .565 (39-of-69) from the field, went 11-of-22 from the arc (.500) and made .783 (18-for-23) at the free throw line.

Game Highlights

With 1:15 on the clock in the second half, Muskingum made a jumper to tie the contest at 90-90, forcing Marietta to call a timeout. When play resumed, the Pioneers notched a layup to put them ahead, 92-90, with 52 seconds remaining. Seconds later, the Muskies drilled a jump shot to tie the game again, 92-92. Muskingum regained possession for the final seconds of the game, but the three-point shot fell short to force overtime.

The first couple of minutes into overtime, the Pioneers went on a 5-2 run to take a 97-94 advantage. The Muskies then marched down the court to score a layup to get within one, 97-96. With under two minutes to go, Dempsey drained two free throws to give the Muskies the 98-97 lead. Shortly thereafter, the visitors retook the lead after drilling a three-pointer and a jumper, 102-98. Dempsey then netted a layup with 43 seconds left to cut the deficit in half, but Marietta went 5-for 6 at the free throw line in the last 29 seconds to seal the victory.

During the first half, Marietta scored the first set of points, but Muskingum then went on to maintain the lead for the next several minutes. With 12:46 on the clock, Marietta took its second lead of the night off a jumper to make it 16-14. The visitors went on to hold the lead with the largest advantage coming in at 10 points, 32-22, at the 5:26 marker. From that point until the end of the stanza, the Muskies mustered their way back by going on a 16-8 run to get within two, 40-38, at intermission.

Up Next

• Muskingum will finish the regular season in the Anne C. Steele Center on Saturday, February 17 as they host Heidelberg on Senior Day. Game time is slated for 2:00 p.m.