COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Capital University men's basketball team started their home schedule strong against Denison on Wednesday night, defeating the Big Red by a score of 86-75.
Capital had quite the quality evening scoring the basketball, connecting on 52.2% of their shot attempts, including 38% from beyond the arc.
Freshmen duo
Ryan Suever and
Alex Eyink helped lead the Purple and White in multiple categories to get the job done on their home debuts. Suever, tied for the team-high in points with a new career-high 20. Offensively, Suever was 7-of-12 from the floor and showed his range from three point range, going a cool 50% from deep. The big man also added five rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal in the game. Eyink upped his career-best in scoring, putting 19 points on the board. Eyink finished at a more efficient 7-of-10 from the floor, but managed just one 3-pointer. Eyink rounded out his first game inside the Capital Center with three boards and three assists.
Furthering the well-rounded play from Capital were the likes of
David Sanford and
Tyler Schreck. Sanford tied Suever with a team-best 20 points from the floor. This was his second 20-point effort of the season as he also scored 20 at Westminster. Sanford added three boards and two assists. Schreck did what Schreck does on all ends of the floor and got his second double-double of the season amidst another well-rounded performance. Schreck scored 13 points, recorded 11 rebounds, handed out six assists, swatted away three blocks and swiped one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After exchanging leads across the early going, Capital grabbed a hold of the game with 10:41 remaining in the first half. Suever connected on a three-pointer from an
Alex Eyink assist, putting Cap ahead 24-23. The Purple and White would fail to relinquish this lead for the remainder of the game, holding on to oust the hot-shooting Big Red.
Late in the first half, Capital got a quick five points with just five seconds remaining to head to the break with a comfortable eight point lead and momentum. First,
David Sanford worked a one-on-one matchup and buried a three with a hand in his face with five seconds on the clock. On the inbound,
Dom Moegerle stole the pass from Denison's Darren Rubin and scooped in a layup as time expired.
The second half was truly all Purple and White as the team executed on both ends of the ball and eventually built a lead of as many as 18 points. A late flurry of offense from Denison closed the final score to 11, but Cap held on to take the resounding win in their home opener.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Capital led the shooting category sinking 35 of their 67 shots for a percentage of 52.2 percent from the field, topping Denisons 28-63 (44.4 percent). In the three-point category, Dension led with 42.9 percent, dropping in nine of their 21 threes thanks to a 6-8 line from Darren Rubin from behind the arch. In comparison, Capital sank eight of their 21 threes, good for 38.1 percent. Cap was led by
Ryan Suever with four. On the break, Capital gained the advantage, scoring 17 and holding Denison to just nine.
The game marked the season and career debuts for both
Jake Neukom and
Matt Dugue.
Capital is off to their hottest start to a season since the 2017-18 slate when they started that season with a 3-1 record as well.
THE OPPONENT
Denison's Darren Rubin paced all players with 31 points and had eight rebounds. Rubin was 11-for-20 from the floor and an electric 6-of-8 from deep. Emmett Burnside led the Big Red with 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Capital will hit the road again for their next match-up. This Saturday, Cap will travel to Kalamazoo College in Michigan for a 1 p.m tip.
Capital's next home game will be on Sunday, November 28th vs. Manchester University at 2 p.m. The team will host a remembrance game in honor of the life of 2008 Cap graduate Zach Hollingsworth. A small ceremony remembering Zach's life and his contributions to the program will be held just prior to tipoff.
**Note: Capital Athletics apologizes for difficulties experience by viewers of the live stream for tonight's game.**
