Muskies let 13-point lead slip away in loss to Wilmington
NEW CONCORD - After fighting for every inch against underdog Wilmington for more than 30 minutes, it appeared Muskingum had finally fended the Quakers off.
A 19-3 run midway through the second half sent them ahead by 13 points with 6:32 left.
But it proved too early to begin celebrating.
The visiting Quakers scored 19 of the next 20 points and a key technical foul call proved critical late, as Wilmington held on for a stunning 91-87 win on Wednesday in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at the Anne Steele Center.
Wilmington (5-8, 1-6 OAC) entered winless in conference play, but 6-2 guard Will Patrick triggered a determined effort from the Quakers that saw them hit 13 3-pointers.
Muskingum (6-8) fell to 4-3 in conference play entering Saturday's game at Ohio Northern, a team coach Travis Schwab says ranks among the best in the OAC.
"I don't think there are any bad teams in this league," Schwab said. "That's been the OAC forever. Game in and game out, if you don't play a complete 40-minute game, anyone can beat you. We showed that tonight a little bit."
Patrick hit 5 of 8 3s, part of a game-high 26 points that led four Quakers in double figures.
Despite his efforts, Muskingum was primed to salt the game away after Jalen Paige sank three free throws to make it 81-68. But things went awry for the Muskie offense, which went 10 possessions without a field goal and managed only two points in the next 5:54.
Wilmington chipped away in the meantime, getting a pair of 3s from Patrick and five free throws to get within 82-79 with 2:54 to play.
That's when the biggest play of the game occurred.
Muskingum's Marcus Dempsey got the ball stripped while making a move to the basket, which led to a breakaway from Jordan Jones, who was fouled by Devon Peart while making a transition layup. Peart was then whistled for a technical foul.
In the end, it led to a seven-point Quaker possession that turned a three-point deficit to an 86-82 lead with 1:13 to play.
Muskingum got within 90-87 after Peart scored with six seconds left, but Kevin Lewis hit the second of two free throws to ice it.
Schwab was unsure why the technical was called.
"I'll have to watch it on film," Schwab said. "That was a very inopportune time to get a technical. I didn't see it. I'll have to take a look at it. You have to be tougher than the officiating."
Dempsey, averaging 28.8 points per game, drew constant attention from an aggressive Quaker defense that trapped from all directions for much of the game.
The Tri-Valley grad still put up a team-high 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including an impressive stretch in the first half when he had a four-point play and drove the length of the floor for a transition layup. He had 14 points before halftime.
Schwab said Dempsey, who recently earned National Men's Player of the Week honors in Division III, can expect more of the same.
"He's going to see that the rest of the year," Schwab said. "Teams are going to do their best to face guard him. They were double-teaming him every time he caught the ball, and that's extremely taxing, but we're still working through some things. We're going to get better."
The team is still mourning the loss of fallen junior Jarrell Marsh, a 1,000-point scorer who died in a Dec. 21 car accident on Interstate 70. His jersey was presented to his father during a pregame ceremony and he, Schwab and Muskingum president Dr. Susan Hasseler addressed the crowd.
Schwab said the team "is playing for something bigger than themselves."
"We've been through hell the last three weeks, but basketball has been very therapeutic for us," Schwab said. "The one thing we've talked about is we have every excuse in the world that we could make, but we're not going to make them. This is a resilient group and they've really bonded together."
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