While the entire game was action-packed, the most intense action occurred in the final five minutes. Sophomore Tyrel Jackson (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) helped the Crusaders widen their lead to four points following his trey with just under four minutes to go, but the Cardinals' Marc McCuen answered on the other end with a layup.  Otterbein (3-9, 2-3 OAC) then tied the game with another bucket following a Capital miss.

The Cardinals extended their run to seven consecutive points when Chase Moyer hit a three ball with 2:03 left on the clock. Capital then committed a key turnover, one of only nine on the night, and then another on its next possession to put the ball back in the hands of the visitors.  Jake Phillis made the most of the extra chance with a layup on the other side with 25 seconds to go, building Otterbein's lead to five points, 73-68.

While Otterbein held the lead, Capital was not down and out just yet. Senior Andrew Bolka (Xenia, Ohio) came down the floor, recorded an offensive rebound and then out of a timeout scored a bucket down low to make for a one-possession game. After a pair of Cardinal free throws, AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley) received a pass and then streaked down the floor for an easy lay up to again hold on hope.

Trailing 75-72, a heave-ho pass down the floor looked like it would lead to an easy lay-in, however a wide open Matt Hughes missed his chance to ice the game. With the final seconds dwindling, his teammate Bryan MacKenzie reeled in the offensive board and put up what would be the shot that sealed the game up for Otterbein.

The late dramatics would have been for not without the relentless play by the Crusaders which erased a deficit that at one time was as many as 12 points. After trailing by seven heading into halftime, the Crusaders slowly but surely chipped into the Otterbein lead with help from a streak of successful three-point shooting. Jackson and Dixon hit threes within the first three minutes of the second half to make for a one-point game. Drew Fecko (Sagamore Hills, Ohio) tied up the contest at 42-42 near the 16-minute mark and two possessions later, Daniel Ocke (Sidney, Ohio) served up Capital's first lead of the game with a layup.

Capital fought back from another deficit, this time of the five-point variety with Dixon this time tossing up the equalizer, 54-54 with 10:12 to go. The back-and-forth nature of the game stayed true for the duration.

Five different Crusaders players scored 10 or more points on the evening, led by Dixon's 14. Jackson (12), Ocke (11), Charles English (11) and Bolka (10) joined him in double figures.

Bolka notched his third double-double of the season, equaling his point output in rebounds, as well.

Capital matched its season-low with nine turnovers, having also done so in a win against Wittenberg University earlier this season. As a team they shot just 37.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from behind the arc.

Conversely, Otterbein hit 46.4 percent of its field goal attempts and was led by Matt Hughes' 20 points and 10 rebounds. Phillis finished with 16 points while McCuen concluded the evening with 11.

Capital now falls to 4-8 overall on the season and possesses a 2-3 Ohio Athletic Conference record. They have now lost three straights games. The loss also snaps a six-game winning streak it had over the Cardinals coming into the game.

The Crusaders will return to action this Saturday, Jan. 10, with a road contest against Baldwin Wallace at 3 p.m.