COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Capital University men's basketball team welcomed the No. 6 ranked Marietta College Pioneers to the Capital Center on Wednesday night for an enthralling affair that saw Capital hold steady for much of the contest. Eventually, a strong second half from the visitors led to a comfortable 81-69 win for the conference leaders. 

Capital (8-7, 3-5 OAC) got a 3-pointer just before the halftime intermission from Ryan Suever that gave the Purple and White all to play for in the second period of play on Saturday evening, but a cold second period of play allowed the Pioneers to distance themselves in the end. 

Tyler Schreck led the team in multiple facets of the game, scoring 13 points, recording nine rebounds, and swatting two blocks. Kaleb Crawford – making an unusual start – also had a solid evening for Cap, scoring 12 points, having seven boards, and dishing out a team-best two assists. Alex Eyink was the lone other Cap player with double-digit scoring with 10 points, aided largely by six free throws. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Capital came out with nothing to lose and scrapped it out with Marietta (13-2, 8-0), eventually taking an eight-point lead with 8:54 remaining. Ahead 12-10 with 14:13 left in the half, Capital got a quick run behind the effort of two free throws from Griffin Doseck, a 3-pointer by Ryan Roth and a 3-ball from David Sanford. The burst of scoring pushed Capital ahead 20-12. 

Marietta then took matters into their own hands and flipped the script right back on the hosts, eventually taking a 37-32 lead with 1:31 left. 

A pair of free throws by Tyler Schreck and Ryan Suever's buzzer-beating 3-pointer just before the intermission pushed the teams to the locker room level at 37-37. 

Out of the break, Schreck converted a tough layup, before the Pioneers set sail on another lengthy run of sharp offense that was spurred on by some hot shooting from Jason Ellis, Lukas Isaly, and Jac Alexander. The visitors eventually built a lead out to as many as 18 points in the half. 

The Capital effort in the second half went cold as the team shot a dreadful 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, slowly allowing Marietta to firmly grasp control of the game.  Eventually, the Purple and White started to get the ball inside and chip away at the Pioneer lead. Unfortunately, the efforts fizzled out as desperation mode for Capital sent Marietta to the line for several free throws late on, eventually sealing the game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Despite a cold second half from deep, Capital still managed to keep pace with the Pioneers' shooting percentage, shooting 42% from the floor – compared to Marietta's 48%. 

With his two blocks tonight, Tyler Schreck improved his season total to 23, sitting him second in the conference. 

The game featured several fouls on both ends of the floor as the refereeing crew kept it tight. The tight calls  resulted in an astounding 46 total fouls in the game – 23 for each side. 

THE OPPONENT
Lukas Isaly led all scorers with 23 points in the game. Jason Ellis chipped home 14 points of his own as well. Addy Black had a team-high five rebounds. 

UP NEXT
Capital will head up the road to take on crosstown rival Otterbein in a rematch from a fierce contest earlier this year. The Cardinals took the first game by a score of 76-68 on December 4th. Tip off in the rematch is scheduled for 7 p.m. this Saturday. 

The Capital women will play Otterbein at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Westerville as well.