BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ignited by a turnover-savvy defense and inspired play from their seniors, the eighth ranked Capital University men’s basketball team defeated OAC opponent Marietta College (10-10, 5-8) 85-70.
The Crusaders (18-2) shrugged off Saturday’s 83-75 defeat at John Carroll University by improving their record to 11-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, which keeps them in a tie with the Blue Streaks atop the conference. Capital is also ranked atop the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional rankings that were also released on Wednesday.
“We knew we just had to shake off the loss and do our best to forget it about focus on Marietta,” said senior Nate Stahl (St. Henry, Ohio/ St. Henry HS), who notched 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Stahl was a major cog on a Crusader team that turned a competitive game into a runaway in the second half. Leading 41-34 at the half, Capital settled in on offense and turned up the intensity on defense. After a nine turnover first half, the Crusaders committed only three in the second half, while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor (14-for-24). Capital’s opportunistic defense forced 19 Pioneer turnovers, which led to 30 offensive points.
“We had way too many turnovers in the first half, but we made better decisions in the second half on both sides of the floor, and that was a key to our win,” Head Coach Damon Goodwin said. “After Marietta had a great start to the second half, we began to play smarter defense and did what we wanted to do in the game.”
“Our defensive pressure really worked in the second half, which led to some easy buckets and got us on a roll,” said Stahl, whose was apart of a defense that threw several different looks at the Pioneers throughout the night.
The complexion of the game changed after the Pioneers took a timeout with Capital up 65-61 with 6:46 left in the game. Just 17 seconds later, sophomore Adam Johns (St. Marys, Ohio/ St Marys Memorial HS) was fouled on a layup and converted his free throw attempt to stretch the lead to eight. The basked ignited an 18-5 run over the next 3:39, as Capital took a commanding 83-66 lead with 2:50 left.
“Johns had a great game. He was a big part of our success in the second half,” Goodwin said. “These guys are selfless, which is the best part of this team. They all know their role and can do when called upon in the game.”
The catalysts during the second half run were Stahl and classmate Ryan Wood (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS), who scored 24 points on 7-for-8 shooting , including being perfect on four three-point attempts.
“During (Marietta’s) timeout, we just talked about executing our offensive game plan, which was getting everyone involved on offense and finding open looks,” Wood said.
Classmate Quintin Mitchell (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Libbey HS) continued his inspired play off the bench, scoring 12 points and pacing the team with six assists and four steals.
Senior Ross Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) carried Capital early in the contest, scoring nine points on 3-of-3 shooting in the first half. Reserve Jamie Yoder (West Holmes, Ohio/ West Holmes HS) also turned in a solid performance, scoring seven points, including going 5-for-5 from the free throw line. For the game, Capital scored 19 points from the charity stripe (on 26 attempts), compared to the Pioneers’ seven points (on nine attempts).
The win maintained Capital’s perfect record at home this season through 10 games.
CU’s quest for a third consecutive OAC championship continues at Muskingum this Saturday at 3 p.m. In their previous match up on December 20, the Crusaders mounted a 72-61 win over the Muskies.