Related Links:Box ScoreThe Capital University men’s basketball team succumbed to a strong second-half run Wednesday, dropping a 73-48 decision at Marietta in an Ohio Athletic Conference affair in Marietta, Ohio.
The loss put the Crusaders (15-9 overall, 12-5 OAC) into a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with Marietta and John Carroll, who defeated Muskingum on Wednesday. Marietta hosts John Carroll on Saturday.
With a win Saturday against Muskingum, Capital would clinch a share of the OAC regular season title and the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which would produce a double-bye to the semifinals and a home game on Feb. 23.
With a loss, the Crusaders would drop to a tie for second, and would hold onto the No. 2 seed with a John Carroll win, but would drop to the No. 3 seed with a Marietta win due to tiebreakers. If it is a No. 3 seed, Capital would receive a bye and host a second-round game Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, the Pioneers (17-7, 12-5) broke a 31-31 tie early in the second half with a 24-4 run in a nine-minute span, taking a 55-35 lead with 9:36 on the clock. The Crusaders would get no closer than 17 from that point on.
No players scored in double figures for Capital, which shot 36.4 percent from the floor for the contest. Marietta knocked down 13-of-27 from 3-point range and made nine in the second half.
Junior Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio) paced the Crusaders with eight points, while classmate Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Capital led 27-26 after one half, scoring nine second-chance points in the period while limiting the Pioneers to 45.8 percent shooting.
Marietta shot 56.7 percent in the second half and scored 19 points off nine Crusader turnovers in the period.
Saturday’s game at Muskingum is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Capital Center. Seniors Tyler Munro (Lexington, Ohio) and Kelly Winter (Dublin, Ohio) will be recognized prior to the contest in their final regular season home game as Crusaders.