BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 14th-ranked Capital men’s basketball team improved to a nation’s best 11-0 at home this season with a 77-65 victory over OAC rival Mount Union on Wednesday night at the Capital Center.
Capital (19-3, 12-3 OAC) hit 30-of-56 shots (.536) from the field and had four players reach double figures in scoring while also holding a 37-20 lead in rebounding.
“Everyone showed up to play for us tonight,” CU Head Coach Damon Goodwin said. “We need to bounce back after Saturday and we did that with a team effort tonight.”
Senior Nate Stahl (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) led all players with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field to move into eighth place on the all-time scoring list at Capital with 1,501 career points. Stahl hit on 3-of-8 shots from three-point range and added seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
Freshman point guard D.J. Frazier (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow HS) followed with a season-high 17 points while connecting on 7-of-7 shots from the free throw line. He also finished with five rebounds, three assists with just one turnover and two blocks.
“Coach (Goodwin) needed us to play hard and we needed this win to stay in the OAC hunt,” Frazier commented. “Saturday at ONU (Ohio Northern) is going to be a challenge and we will have to step up our defense to win that one.”
Senior Ross Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS) had 11 points while classmate Casey Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready HS) tallied his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Crusaders dominated most of the statistical categories in the game with a 46-22 lead at points in the paint, a 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers and a 17-4 edge in fast break points. Mount Union remained close by hitting on 8-of-16 shots from three-point range in a game that featured nine lead changes and six tied scores – all in the first half.
After both sides played even for the first 14 minutes of the opening half, Brown was fouled and made both shots from the charity stripe to give Capital a 22-21 lead with 7:01 left. Those baskets would start a 14-3 Crusader run over the next 5:14 that included a total of five points from Brown, four by Frazier and three by Stahl as CU would take a 38-26 lead into halftime.
Capital would stretch its lead to as many as 18 with threes by Neikamp and Stahl in the opening three minutes of the second half. From there, Mount Union would get as close as eight with 6:19 left, but another trey from Ryan Wood at the 5:28 mark took the Crusader advantage back up to double digits for good in a 77-65 victory.
Capital will play its nest two games on the road beginning with a trip to face OAC rival Ohio Northern in Ada on Saturday at 3 p.m.