BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 12th-ranked Capital University men’s basketball team is off to its best start since the 2001-2002 season following an 82-70 win over visiting Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday night in non-conference action at the Capital Center.
Capital (5-0, 0-0 OAC) had five players reach double figures in scoring led by the senior duo of All-American Nate Stahl (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) and Ryan Wood (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS) who each finished with 17 points. Stahl hit on 7-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Wood added two assists and one steal while making 3-of-7 shots from three-point range.
The Crusaders also had offense in the paint with senior Ross Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) and sophomore Adam Johns (St. Mary’s, Ohio/St. Mary’s Memorial HS) each scoring 12 points. Neikamp finished 5-of-6 from the floor with four rebounds in just 18 minutes of action while Johns pulled down six rebounds and made 5-of-8 shots in 17 minutes of play.
Senior Quintin Mitchell (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Libbey HS) added 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist to help Capital post a 38-24 lead at points in the paint and a 28-19 edge in bench points.
After a closely played first half, the homestanding Crusaders finally gained a 10-point advantage with 12:44 left in the contest on a second-chance layup by Ross Niekamp. The Bishops responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to pull within in four at 54-50 with 10:26 remaining. However, Capital would score on the very next possession to regain control on a jumper in the paint by Ryan Wood just 18 seconds later.
Ohio Wesleyan would get no close the rest of the way as Capital would hit 14-of-25 (.560) shots from the field in the second half and 12-of-17 (.706) from the free throw line to outscore the Battling Bishops 41-35 in the second half.
Capital will begin Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday with a trip to Baldwin-Wallace. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET for a game that will be televised via tape delay on SportsTime Ohio. The broadcast can be seen on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and Sunday at Noon ET.