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COLUMBUS – The Capital University men's basketball team opened 2012-13 Ohio Athletic Conference play with a 61-57 win over the Purple Raiders of Mount Union Saturday afternoon at the Capital Center.

Senior guard Tim Congrove finished with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting (all 3-point attempts) and senior forward Spencer Niekamp added 14 points and 8 rebounds of his own to lead Capital offensively.

The Crusaders finished the game at 40 percent shooting from the floor while connecting on nine 3-pointers, while holding the Purple Raiders to 31.5 percent from the field (2-of-17 from 3-point range).

Congrove, a Circleville, Ohio, native, had himself a game in the first half.

With Capital (3-4 overall, 1-0 OAC) down 8-0 to the Purple Raiders to start the game, Congrove and fellow Logan Elm alum Adam Blake (Kingston, Ohio) connected on three consecutive 3-pointers to make it a 9-8 ballgame, forcing Mount Union into an early timeout.

Congrove would finish the first half of play with 11 points, 4 rebounds on 3-3 shooting, all from behind the arc.

After Mount Union (1-5, 0-1) had retaken the lead with 4:02 remaining in the first half, Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio) knocked down one of his two 3-point field goals on the night to spark a 12-2 run to end the half, where Capital led 31-22.

After finding themselves down by a bucket with 15:09 remaining due to an 11-0 run by Mount Union to start the second half, senior guard Damon Dillard (Columbus, Ohio) found Spencer Niekamp for an open 3-pointer to retake the lead.

Although Capital kept Mount Union in-check defensively, holding them to 31.5 percent shooting for the game, the Purple Raiders kept themselves within striking distance by getting to the foul line, where they were 21-for-24 for the game.

When Capital's lead turned into a one point deficit at the 9:48 mark in the second period, Capital's Tim Congrove hit another 3 pointer to retake the lead for the Crusaders.

Down the stretch in what was otherwise a neck and neck game, the Crusaders' hustle eventually opened up their lead as Niekamp and senior forward Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio) added clutch second-chance points off of missed shots.

With 1:48 left, Niekamp's put-back off of his own missed 3-point attempt ultimately extended the lead for Capital to three and it held on to take the win behind a strong defensive effort to close the game.

Capital returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 5, when it travels to Tiffin, Ohio, to take on the Heidelberg Student Princes for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.