BEREA, Ohio – Despite a late second half rally, the Capital University men's basketball team fell 78-68 at Baldwin Wallace in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Monday night.

The opening five minutes of play featured both teams trading baskets, as junior forward Daniel Ocke (Sidney, Ohio) and freshman guard Tyrel Jackson (Dublin, Ohio) scored 12 of the Crusaders first 14 points to start the game.

Junior forward Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio) led the Crusaders in scoring the first half with 11 points on 4-5 shooting, while making multiple trips to the foul line, but converting on just 3-8 shots from the line in the opening half of play.

Capital struggled to keep Baldwin Wallace out of the paint in the opening period, allowing a 20-10 advantage in points in the paint to its opposition, leading to a 38-31 lead for the Yellow Jackets at halftime.

At the half, Capital was shooting 42.3 percent from the field (11-26), as opposed to the Yellow Jackets mark of 42.9 percent (15-35).

As the second half of play unfolded, the Yellow Jackets manufactured a 17-4 run to open the half, extending their lead to 55-35 with 14:27 left in the final half.

The Crusaders then went over four minutes in the second half without a basket, until senior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) converted two fast break layups in just over a minute, cutting the deficit to 16 points.

Capital managed to cut the deficit to as few as 10 points a few times down the stretch, before eventually falling by 10 points.

Leading the way for the Crusaders was Bolka, posting 18 points and nine rebounds, while converting on 7-8 shots from the floor.

Freshman guard Curt Geise (Delphos, Ohio) and junior guard Michael Green each scored seven points, while Ocke, Ben Jackson, Tyrel Jackson each checked in with six points for the game.

As a team, the Crusaders shot 40.7 percent from the field, while the Yellow Jackets posted a 45 percent shooting mark on the night.

With the loss, Capital (12-14 overall) exits the 2013-2014 season having not advanced to the OAC Tournament semifinals for the first time in an outstanding record of seven seasons. The loss also marked the final game in the careers of seniors Ben Jackson and Jared Cashen.