COLUMBUS – The Capital University men's basketball team scored 16 points in the final 4:16 of play Saturday to emerge with a 69-56 victory over area rival Otterbein in an Ohio Athletic Conference affair in front of a large, energized crowd at the Capital Center.

Playing their final home regular season contest, the Crusaders (11-12 overall, 8-8 OAC) broke open a tie game late with a combination of lay-ups and free throws, converting all eight of their attempts over the final 1:45 of play.

Capital defended the Cardinals (4-19, 3-13) into shooting just 32 percent from the floor, including a 23.8 percent clip in the opening half, and forced 16 Otterbein turnovers. On the other end, the Crusaders shot 39.3 percent from the field but hit 81.5 percent (22-of-27) at the free throw line and outscored Otterbein 34-12 in the paint.

Senior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) led all scorers with 18 points and tied a team high with seven rebounds in his final regular season home game. Senior forward Jared Cashen (Norwalk, Ohio) totaled three points and five rebounds. Both were recognized prior to tip-off for their career accomplishments.

Junior forward Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio) recorded 17 points, while sophomore guard AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio) registered 11 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio) extended his double-digit scoring streak to nine games with 10 points.

Fueled by a raucous student crowd, Capital forced an Otterbein timeout just over five minutes into the contest, knocking down a pair of threes to sprint to a 12-3 advantage.

The Crusaders' defense forced tough shots for the Cardinals over the first 10 minutes of play, as Otterbein hit just one of its first 11 shots and committed six turnovers over that span.

Freshman guard Tyrel Jackson's 3-pointer with 8:13 on the clock gave Capital its first double-digit lead, 22-12. The Crusaders held a 32-21 lead heading into the locker room thanks to a lay-up in the waning moments of the period by freshman guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio).

After Ben Jackson made it 38-28 just over five minutes into the second half, the Cardinals embarked on an 11-0 run to take a one-point lead with 11:59 to play in the contest.

Jackson struck again with a jumper at the 9:19 mark to give Capital the lead again at 46-44. The Crusaders knocked down five of their next six free throws to extend their advantage to 53-48 with 5:35 on the clock.

The Cardinals quickly tied the game at 53-53, but Capital tallied six straight points, highlighted by Jackson's driving lay-up and a 3-point play by Bolka to lead 61-55 with 2:12 on the clock.

The 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees and special award recipients were honored at halftime of the contest. The 1994 and 1995 women's basketball national championship teams, former head football coach Jim Collins, track and field standout Joe Dobos II '72, women's basketball star Karen Haban '87, football defensive back George Quil '71 and football quarterback Kevin Reed '83 were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Don V. Schiff '59 received the Hugo C. Wenzel Award of Merit, while Jeffrey L. Jenkins '63 earned the Crusader Distinguished Service Award. Emma McCarron '13 of the cross country and track and field programs was named winner of the Berea Boots Award.

The Crusaders conclude the regular season next week with a pair of games on the road. Capital visits Muskingum Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in New Concord, Ohio.