COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties, the Capital University men's basketball team ended a seven-game skid on Saturday afternoon against rival Ohio Northern by a score of 69-65.

The Crusaders battled through early miscues in the first half and were able to take a 29-24 lead into the half.

Capital started the second half with Charles English (Cincinnati, Ohio), making a contested layup as he was getting fouled by the Ohio Northern defender. He would then convert on the extra shot. The Crusaders then continued to find points from the arc as Brennan Czuchran (Rayland, Ohio) made two three-point shots. AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio) added three more points of his own to push the score to 41-29.

The Crusaders were leading 57-51 with 7:37 left to play until Ohio Northern's Lucas Pennington sparked a 9-0 run after being sent to the line. After making his first free throw attempt, Capital was given a technical foul that lead to three more shots from the charity stripe. Pennington would take advantage of them all before making two shots more two minutes later. The run was capped off by a layup from Joey DiOrio, which gave the Polar Bears a 59-57 lead with 4:46 left in the game.

Sophomore guard Tyrel Jackson (Dublin, Ohio) responded by hitting a 3-point jumper right out of a Capital timeout to give the Crusaders a one point lead.

The Polar Bears matched the Crusaders baskets over the course of the next few minutes to tie the game at 63 with 2:45 left to play. Dixon drained his final three-pointer to break the tie, putting the Crusaders up 66-63 under the two-minute mark.

The final blow was struck when Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio) pulled down his ninth rebound of the game after a missed Capital three-pointer, forcing Ohio Northern to foul. Bolka would go on to make both of his free throw attempts to extend the Capital's lead for good.

Dixon led the Crusaders, setting a season-high with 23 points. The junior guard was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and was played a vital role in helping Capital set a new season-high mark in three-point percentage (.571). Bolka also added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Pennington led the Polar Bears, with a perfect mark from the free-throw line (10-of-10)

The Crusaders return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 28 with a road game at Wilmington at 7:30 p.m.