By: Ryan Gasser, sports information director

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University men's basketball team opened up the 2019-20 season with a win over Trine University on Friday night. The Crusaders defeated the Thunder on the first day of the Capital Tipoff Classic by a score of 69-53 in a fast-paced affair at The Capital Center.

Final statistics

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OUT OF THE GATE

• Capital began the game on a 7-0 run, sparked by senior Ganiyu Yahaya (Abuja, Nigeria/Wesley Christian). Yahaya posted five points during the run and scored the Crusaders' first points of the season on a 3-pointer from the wing.
• Capital scored 16 of the game's first 22 points with the help of five different players.
• Freshman Griffin Doseck (Anna, Ohio / Anna) helped preserve a double-digit lead with five straight points near the midway point of the first half, pushing Capital's lead to 23-13 with 9:43 remaining.
• Seven total Crusaders found the scoreboard in the first half, led by Yahaya's 13 first-half points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. He hit 3-of-4 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
• Cap converted 48.6 percent (17-35) of their field goals in the first half and held a 24-15 rebounding advantage over the Thunder.
• Trine shot just 33.3 percent (10-30) from the field and faltered from behind the arc, going just 3-of-12 from distance.
• Behind those numbers, Capital took a 39-24 lead into the locker room at the half.

HOLDING ON

• Trine was unable to gain any ground on the Crusaders in the second half after posting shooting numbers lower than its first-half statistics. The Thunder shot just 31 percent (9-29) from field-goal range and just 2-of-8 from behind the arc.
• Capital cooled off marginally and ran the clock down to account for fewer shot attempts (11-26, .423), and slowed in the 3-point game (3-13).
• Trine never got any closer than nine points to the Crusaders and saw that lead balloon to 24 at one point.

LEADING THE WAY

• Ganiyu Yahaya led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and a 4-of-6 performance from 3-point range. He also had two blocks and three rebounds.
• Three additional Crusaders hit double figures in the scoring column including Griffin Doseck (11), sophomore Reed Bradfield (10) and sophomore Tyler Schreck (10).
• Junior Joe Hartmann brought down a game and career-high 13 rebounds and tallied three blocks for Cap.
• Freshman guard Ryan Roth (Findlay, Ohio / Findlay) had a solid collegiate debut behind nine points, all off of 3-pointers, plus three assists in 15 minutes of play off the bench.
• Of the 69 points scored, 22 were scored by members of the freshman class and 20 were scored by the sophomore class.
• Langston Johnson led the Thunder with 16 points while Brent Cox and Mitchell Geller posted a team-high seven rebounds.

UP NEXT

Capital (1-0) will now play host to Albion College (1-1) on Saturday evening in the final game of the Capital Tipoff Classic. The Crusaders and Brittons will square off 30 minutes after the Trine/Ohio Wesleyan game concludes, tentatively at 6 p.m. Albion defeated Ohio Wesleyan in a thrilling 72-70 on a make with 1.4 seconds remaining prior to the Capital/Trine contest.