COLUMBUS – The Capital University men's basketball team kept its fans on the edge of their seats on Saturday afternoon, as they traveled a chaotic comeback trail late in the second half to narrow a double-digit deficit to one point, but eventually fell 72-71 in an Ohio Athletic Conference match-up at the Capital Center.

Despite an average first half shooting percentage of 34.8 percent, the Crusaders managed to win the rebounding battle, leading the Polar Bears 19-14 on the glass.

Junior forward Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio) was the ring leader for the Crusaders' scoring and rebounding attack in the opening frame, leading the team with 10 points and five rebounds.

Freshman guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio) also performed well in a reserve role the first half, following Bolka with seven points, including a perfect mark of 4-4 from the foul line.

Capital managed to hold off Ohio Northern's offense just enough, forcing them to shoot 40.7 percent from the field, as the Crusaders took a 30-28 lead into halftime.

In the second half of play, a very physical style of play led to multiple foul calls on both ends of the floor, limiting any sort of offensive flow for either team.

However, junior guard Michael Green (Dublin, Ohio) became a force midway through the final half, scoring all of his team-high 13 points in the second frame, including back-to-back three-point field goals midway through to tie the game at 50 apiece.

The Polar Bears then managed to eventually take the lead and extend it to as many as 10 points late in the second half, but the Crusaders continued to battle in the paint, securing multiple offensive rebounds.

With 1:21 remaining in the game, senior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) converted a layup underneath the basket and the foul shot that followed, cutting the Polar Bears lead to five points.

Then with under a minute remaining in the game, sophomore guard Charles English (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored nine points in short order to narrow the Crusaders deficit to just one point with just five seconds remaining in the game.

Leading the way for the Crusaders was Bolka and Green, each scoring 13 points apiece, combining for six rebounds.

English finished the game with nine points on three of four shooting, as he entered the game late in the second half of play.

With the loss, Capital (6-7 overall, 3-4 OAC) now is set to host Mount Union on Jan. 20 in a make-up game from inclement weather a few weeks ago.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.