Muskies top Otterbein for third straight win

NEW CONCORD, Ohio — After losing three straight games to start their season, the Muskies have now won four out of five, including three straight, after topping Otterbein 76-71 on Saturday.

Muskingum entered Saturday’s match-up with the Cardinals coming off consecutive wins against Capital and Baldwin Wallace. And at 4-4 on the season, and 3-1 in OAC play, the Muskies have begun to find their form.

The Muskies and Cardinals traded punches all day on Saturday, with neither team holding a double-digit lead at any point in the contest. The Muskies trailed by as many as nine in the first half, before Marcus Dempsey scored eight straight points to help lead a run that would tied the game at 38 at halftime.

Dempsey, while scoring 20 points on the afternoon, didn’t shoot up to his normal standards, going 9-22 from the floor and just 1-8 from beyond the arc. Teammate Jarrell Marsh helped pick up his sophomore teammate though, leading Muskingum with 26 points on the afternoon, shooting 9-15 from the field and 4-7 from three-point range. Marsh added nine rebounds to his stat line on the afternoon.

Otterbein got strong performances on the day from Justin Carter and Corey Howard. Carter controlled the interior for the Cardinals, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Howard, who went 4-5 from deep, chipped in 16 points off the bench.

Muskingum will play a non-conference game on Wednesday when they host Waynesburg. After that, they will have a long break before their next game on the 29th, when they play Medaille in the Oberlin College Tournament.