(COLUMBUS, Ohio)---Capital University's men's basketball team survived several second-half scoring runs from visiting Muskingum College but was able to hold off the Muskies and win a 72-66 Ohio Athletic Conference match-up Saturday at The Capital Center.
Capital wins its third in a row, running its record to 18-3 overall and at 13-1 in the OAC maintains a three-game lead in first place in the conference standings. Muskingum falls to 13-8 and an even 7-7 in conference play.
Junior Ryan Wood (Pickerington/Pickerington Central) made 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and poured in 20 points to lead the Crusaders, while senior Steve Kyser (Sylvania/Sylvania) scored 16 points in the second half as part of an 18-point, eight rebound performance.
Brandon Todd led Muskingum with 19 points, including five three-pointers, while Tyler Felt had 15 points and seven boards for the Muskies in the loss.
Muskingum ran out to the early 8-2 lead behind six early points from Felt, but Capital was able to tie it at 10 on a three-point play by Jamie Yoder (Millersburg/West Holmes) at the 14:03 mark in the first half. The Muskies would regain the lead and push it out to as many as seven points, but the Crusaders closed out the half with a 6-1 run, capped off by one of Wood's four three-pointers.
The Crusaders held a 45-33 lead, its largest of the game, with 13:08 remaining in the contest, but Muskingum would not go away as it stormed back to tie the game on three different occasions. A Kyser jumper at the 2:27 mark gave Capital the 62-60 lead and Capital would hit eight of its final 10 free-throws to seal the 72-66 victory.
Capital heads to Alliance, Ohio at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to take on Mount Union College. With a win, the Crusaders would clinch at least a share of the OAC regular season title. The game will be broadcast LIVE on the Internet on www.capitalcrusaders.net.