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COLUMBUS – The Capital University men's basketball team (19-6, 16-2 OAC) defeated the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University (12-13, 8-10 OAC) by a final score of 61-47 to win the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title on Senior Day at the Capital Center.

The Crusaders were led by senior guard Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio), who posted 18 points, and senior forward Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio), who tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Senior guard Mitch Westerheide (Ft. Loramie, Ohio) also chipped in eight points and six assists offensively for Capital.

Following the win, head coach Damon Goodwin credited his team's victory as a win for those who earned it – the players.

"I think it's about the kids," said Goodwin. "We have tough kids and they play hard and they play through each other. Those things are more important than anything else sometimes. They have had peaks and valleys and our valleys tend to be rather shallow, but they come back from it."

As conference champions, the Crusaders will have home court advantage throughout the OAC Tournament.

"We had a lot of pressure on us and we wanted the home court (advantage) and we earned that today," said Goodwin. "It's always better to earn it than back into it. I'm proud of our guys and they came out playing well, hit some shots and weathered the storm."

Niekamp also talked about how that pressure motivated his team to finish the season on a positive note to counteract last week's slow start against Muskingum.

"We stayed hungry," said Niekamp. "We knew we didn't come out the way we needed to Wednesday against Muskingum so we needed to have a little bit more fire. This game was really important and now we have that home court advantage and hopefully we can take it from here."

In the opening twenty minutes of basketball, the Crusaders and Polar Bears went back and forth as nearly every possession resulted in a lead change.

After Capital opened up a six-point lead, its largest of the first half, Ohio Northern came back to take a two-point lead at the 9:26 mark.

Out of a timeout, the Crusaders would go on a 13-7 run to end the half, where they would hold a four-point lead. Niekamp scored 12 in the frame.

The Crusaders' 29-25 lead at the break could also be attributed to an impressive shooting performance from distance, as the team connected on 4-of-7 three-point attempts in the opening period.

In the second half, the Crusaders would stretch that halftime lead to as many as 16 points behind great defense and continued 3-point efficiency.

Congrove proved to be the difference down the stretch as he connected on four of his six 3-pointers in the second half.

With 1:31 left to play in the contest and the game in hand, Goodwin emptied his bench to replace his senior players in a mass substitution to the delight of the crowd, which gave a standing ovation.

Westerheide also was key in the win as he dished out eight assists and continuously found ways to put his teammates in advantageous positions to make baskets.

For the game, Capital passed the ball with purpose, racking up 19 assists as a team and capitalized on Polar Bear turnovers with 14 points off those miscues.

The Crusaders shot 57.1 percent from distance in the second and held Ohio Northern to 42.6 percent shooting for the game.

Niekamp, Westerheide and Congrove, along with fellow seniors Damon Dillard (Columbus, Ohio) and Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio), who finished with 11 points, were recognized prior to the contest. The team also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 2002-03 OAC regular season championship team in a brief halftime ceremony.

The team will return to action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. where they will host an opponent to be determined in the OAC Tournament semifinals.