WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team put in a valiant effort down the stretch on its Senior Day, but ultimately fell short to Muskingum 75-71 in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) matchup at the Rike Center this Saturday afternoon.

Otterbein falls to 1-22 overall with a conference record of 1-15, while Muskingum improves to 9-14 overall and a conference mark of 7-9. The Cardinals will host Ohio Northern next Wednesday night in its home finale of the season at 7 p.m.

The Cardinals never held a lead throughout the entire contest, trailing by as many as 23 points in the first half as Muskingum found its groove early on to take a 45-28 advantage at the half. Muskingum's Marcus Dempsey, the league's leading-scorer, checked in with 19 points at the break.

A second-half resurgence by the Cardinals highlighted the afternoon, as they overcame a 17-point deficit to pull within two points of the Muskies with nine seconds remaining in the game.

Strong scoring performances throughout the afternoon from freshmen Justin Carter and Maurice Beavers, as well as senior Matt Hughes, helped put the Cards within striking distance of the Muskies as the second half progressed.

A clutch steal by sophomore Nick Koontz had the well-populated Rike Center crowd on the edge of its seats as the ball was passed to redshirt-sophomore Cameron Arminio, who had a great look to potentially give the Cards their first lead of the game on a three-pointer as the clock winded down to zero before it rimmed out.

Otterbein was led by Carter with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting to accompany five rebounds, while Hughes followed with 14 points while tying for a game-best eight boards. Beavers chipped in 13 points for the game, 10 of which came in the initial half. 

Muskingum's Marcus Dempsey was the bulk of the team's offense, scoring a game-high 35 points, including 19 first half points. Dempsey was slowed down during the second half in large part to stellar defense by senior Nick Nossaman, which was a huge factor in sparking the Cards' comeback.