COLUMBUS, Ohio - Senior guard
Ryan Wood (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS) scored a game-high 25 points, and Capital University's men's basketball team rallied from a nine-point deficit late in the first half to defeat Ohio Northern University 96-88 in overtime Saturday at The Capital Center.
The Crusaders, ranked No. 11 in the nation, improved to 12-1 (5-1 Ohio Athletic Conference), while the Polar Bears, who are receiving votes in the national poll, dropped to 10-4 (5-2 OAC).
A back-and-forth contest saw nine ties and five lead changes, most occurring in the final five minutes of the game. Capital trailed 41-32 with two minutes left in the first half, but cut its deficit to 43-40 at the break following a pair of free throws by senior forward Casey Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready HS).
The Crusaders then began the second half on a 10-2 run, taking their first lead of the game on a three-pointer by senior guard Nate Stahl (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS). Capital pushed its lead to seven points following a three-point play from senior forward Quintin Mitchell (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey HS) to put the Crusaders in front 57-50 with 9:32 left.
ONU retook the lead just under three and a half minutes later with a layup by Jake Cannan to make it 66-65, and the Polar Bears pushed in front by three after Ezra Bradshaw hit a pair of free throws. Brown answered with two free throws of his own, and Wood's three-pointer gave Capital the lead back at 70-68 with 4:36 to go.
The Polar Bears sank three free throws to regain the lead at 73-72, but a pair of free throws by Stahl gave Capital a one-point cushion at 77-76 with 1:59 left. ONU's Sam Bastian tied it with a free throw 35 seconds later, but Wood drew a foul and hit two more free throws to make it 79-77.
Ohio Northern tied the game with a layup by Kyle Meyer with 34 seconds left, and senior guard Jake Fanning (Marblehead, Ohio/Danbury HS) had a three-point attempt before the buzzer go halfway in before popping out to send the game to overtime.
Capital took control early in overtime and never trailed. Brown's three-point play put Capital in front, Wood scored six points in the extra session, and Fanning connected on a three-pointer as well as the Crusaders out-scored ONU 17-9 in overtime.
Six players scored in double figures for Capital, as Stahl added 16 points, Brown had 15, Mitchell had 14 and senior guard Jamie Yoder (West Holmes, Ohio/West Holmes HS) contributed with 10. Fanning scored nine points and senior forward Ross Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) added seven as Capital's seven seniors accounted for all of the team's 96 points.
"The seniors stepped up for us," head coach Damon Goodwin said. "They stayed calm throughout the game. Even when Ohio Northern made its run in the second half to take the lead, we understood what we needed to do to come back at them."
Capital hit 39-of-44 free throws (88.6 percent), including a perfect 15-of-15 in the first half and 10-of-11 in overtime. The Crusaders also only turned the ball over seven times, making up for ONU's 40-31 edge in rebounding.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Polar Bears, but Capital was able to take advantage of ONU's miscues as 14 Polar Bear turnovers turned into 19 points for the Crusaders.
The Crusaders host Heidelberg College in another OAC contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday in The Capital Center.