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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Capital University Men's Basketball went blow for blow with the Muskies of Muskingum University in its season opener on Friday night, but ultimately fell just short of the win. The visiting Muskies left The Capital Center with a 58-55 victory over the Crusaders in Capital's first athletic event since March of 2020.

HOT START

• Senior Joe Hartmann kicked off an 8-3 run for the Crusaders to begin the game and notch the first bucket of the season.
• That lead grew to nine points (14-5) less than eight minutes into the game after Capital cashed in on a pair of Musky turnovers, which resulted in baskets made on the other end by seniors Reed Bradfield and Joe Hartmann.
• The Muskies responded by closing the gap to two points by going on an 8-0 run with four of those points coming from forward Cason Carter. The lead remained to within two possessions until Ryan Roth's triple with 3:32 remaining drove the Capital lead to 27-21.
• Roth kept Cap's lead to five heading into the locker room with a close-range jumper to make the score 31-26.

OUT OF THE BREAK

• Just as it had started, Capital came out firing in the second half. Muskingum's M.J. Smith hit a three-pointer, but that was soon forgotten when the Crusaders responded with back-to-back triples by sophomore Griffin Doseck and Trey Meister. That drove the score to 39-29 in Capital's favor just two minutes into the half.
• Capital was held without a field goal for the next 6:24 while Muskingum whittled the led to two, then tied the game at 39 when Da'Ray Menefield hit a layup.
• Freshman Carter Combs broke the dry spell with a drive to the bucket to put Cap up 43-39 with 11:37 remaining.

DOWN THE STRETCH

• With nearly nine minutes to go, Musky's Mitch Clark hit his lone field goal of the game to bring the game back to a one-point contest. After both teams went scoreless for a little over two minutes, Carson Carter hit a jumper with 6:56 to go to give Muskingum its first lead of the game, 45-44.
• Capital responded with five unanswered points stemming from a trey by freshman David Stanford and a layup by Tyler Schreck to go up by four, 49-45, with 5:50 remaining.
• Noah Begue responded with a three. Following a small drought by both teams that was followed by teammate Alex Masinelli, who matched that showing to give Muskingum a 51-39 lead with 2:16 to go in the game.
• M.J. Smith continued Muskingum's good fortune by converting a jumper in the paint following a Capital miss to increase its lead to four near the one-minute mark.
• After Joe Hartmann split a one-and-one opportunity, Reed Bradfield intercepted the ensuing Muskingum pass after the miss and turned it into two points with an immediate layup. That cut the deficit to one point, 53-52, with 28 seconds remaining.
• A pair of free throws by Masinelli grew the Musky lead to three, but David Sanford answered with a clutch three-pointer from the right wing to tie the game, 55-55, with 16 seconds to go.
• M.J. Smith led the Muskingum charge down the floor out of a timeout and with a hand in his face, hit a fadeaway three from the left wing with under three seconds to go.
• On the approach to tie, David Stanford was unable to toe the sideline on the advance and was ruled out of bounds, turning the ball over and preventing a Capital comeback.

• Ten Capital players found the score sheet on Friday night, led by Joe Hartmann (Cincinnati, Ohio / LaSalle) and Reed Bradfield (Edgewood, Ky. / Dixie Heights), each scoring seven points.
• Hartmann also led the Crusaders with 10 rebounds and two assists.
• Muskingum was led by a pair of double-digit scorers, M.J. Smith (20) and Carson Carter (15). Carter also had seven rebounds, second only to Alex Masinelli's nine boards.

FRESHMAN DEBUTS

• David Stanford (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield) played 12:36 in his debut with the Crusaders and scored six points one 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
• Carter Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio / Lakota West) scored his first points on one field goal in his 4:25 of action.
• Sophomore transfer KeAndre Graves (Cleveland, Ohio / Garfield Heights / Central State) notched six points, one rebound and one assist in his debut, which totaled 13:06 on the floor.

NEXT TIME OUT
Capital (0-1) will bounce back into action on Saturday night with a road trip to New Concord, Ohio in an attempt to return the favor to the Muskies (1-0) at Anne C. Steele Arena. Game time is set for 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on athletics.capital.edu.