Box Score SALEM, Va. – The Capital University men's basketball team improved to 2-2 overall after defeating Southern Virginia University (1-3), 71-49, on the second day of the Dick Leftwich V Foundation Classic.
Charles English set a new career high with 26 points to lead the Crusaders to victory.
Capital (2-2) took a commanding lead over the course of the first half, driving them to their second victory of the season. After the Knights scored the game's first points to take a 4-0 lead, the Crusaders responded when English and AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley) hit back-to-back three-pointers.
English then went down the floor after an SVU miss and cleaned up after his own missed shot plus converted a three-point play after being fouled in the process. That served as a prelude for the day that was to come for the Cincinnati, Ohio native.
While jumping out to a 12-6 lead from the start of the game, English scored nine of those points. He went on to finish the day with 26 points, surpassing his previous career high of 13 set last season against Marietta College. He entered the game scoring 8.3 points per game.
Toward the back end of the first half, Capital gained a 26-17 advantage over the Knights and never looked back. From the 3:49 mark of the first half, the Crusaders lost its double-digit lead for just one possession from that point on.
Supplementing English's career day, the junior also added four rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block, and went 9-for-10 at the free throw line.
Other notable performers for the Crusaders include senior post player Ben Danhoff (Clyde, Ohio) who finished with nine points and six rebounds; sophomore guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio) who came off the bench to score nine points, all from the charity stripe; and Dixon who finished with eight points.
A day after shooting near 60 percent from the free throw line, Capital responded on Saturday by shooting 84.6 percent (22-for-26).
Capital will now bring their game back to the Capital Center where they will host Ohio Wesleyan University as part of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader. The women will take the court at 6 p.m. with the men's game scheduled to tentatively begin at 8 p.m.