BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, OH- The Capital University men’s basketball team had compiled 76 wins over the past four seasons prior to their match up against bitter rival Otterbein College Saturday. In their final regular season home game, the seven Crusader seniors rallied with a second half comeback to force overtime and earn victory No. 77 over the Cardinals 83-78.
In a thriller that saw 16 lead changes, Capital (22-3) overcame a 10-point deficit with 10:42 left in regulation to improve their Ohio Athletic Conference record to 15-3, while locking up the No. 2 seed for next week’s OAC Tournament in the process.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Otterbein. They probably played their best game of the year,” head coach Damon Goodwin said. “The key for us was when we went with a small lineup. The guys out there really stepped it up when it mattered. I also have to give credit to our seniors. They made some really big plays today.”
The Crusaders will next square off against Mount Union Wednesday at the Cap Center in the OAC Quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Capital won both contests between the two schools in the regular season, including 77-65 victory at home on February 11.
Goodwin emphasized the many accomplishments that came with winning Saturday.
“This game was important in many ways. To send the seniors out right, to beat Otterbein, to earn an undefeated record at home (12-0) in the regular season. All of those factors were important to us.”
In a game that featured many key performers, the difference in the outcome came from senior Jake Fanning (Danbury, Ohio/Danbury HS). Fanning scored a career-high 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
“We had some good defensive pressure that led to fast breaks. Being on top of the defense in those situations, I was fortunate to get some great looks and an opportunity to capitalize on my chances to score,” said Fanning, who also hit 7-of-10 free throws and forced four steals.
Defensive pressure was what had been missing from the Crusaders for most of the game entering its final stages. Capital found themselves trailing 39-36 at halftime and 57-47 with less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
“They were making big shots and we didn’t play good help defense. We knew we had to fix those things in the second half, said senior Nate Stahl (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry HS), who scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. “We went to a double team to try to force some turnovers and raise the intensity of the game.”
The adjustments led to 17 turnovers forced in the second half, igniting an 18-6 Crusader run that spanned 6:22 seconds. Ten of those points were scored by senior Ryan Wood (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS), including a three-point conversion that gave the Crusaders a 65-63 advantage with 3:36 remaining. Wood finished with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Another major cog during the Crusader run was the play of senior Quintin Mitchell (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Libbey HS). Mitchell spearheaded the Crusaders with eight rebounds and scored nine points.
“We were able to get a lot of turnovers, which enabled us to do what we do best on offense, which is to run the ball,” Stahl said. We got our wing players spread out, which got posts on single coverage, where they took control.”
The Crusaders again found themselves trailing 71-68 with 33 seconds remaining when Fanning stepped to the forefront. Fanning rebounded a Capital miss and was fouled while hitting a layup with 18 seconds left. His successful free throw shot tied the contest and eventually forced overtime.
“We never doubted ourselves. We’ve been in pressure situations all season,” Fanning said. “We stayed calm, stayed with the game plan, and played hard. In the end we played with passion and pride to get the win.”
Capital was trailing once more in overtime, 76-73, when the Crusaders went on a 10-2 jaunt to end the game. Mitchell gave the Crusaders their first lead in overtime at 77-76 with a steal and layup with 3:24 remaining in the extra session. The Crusaders took the lead for good at 80-78 on junior Ben McGrath’s (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Princeton HS) three-point shot with 2:20 left. Mitchell and Fanning’s free throw conversions in the closing minutes iced the contest.
The Crusaders key to victory came in the turnover battle. Capital forced 28 turnovers for the game, which led to 37 fast break points, compared to only 13 forced turnovers and 13 points on Capital masques for the Cardinals (5-20, 3-15 in the OAC).
“The good thing is we haven’t peaked yet as a team. We certainly haven’t played our best as a basketball team,” Goodwin said. “And if we start playing our best in the coming weeks, we’ll give ourselves a chance to do some good things.”