COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University men's basketball team took an early lead and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire in a 75-57 win over the visiting Kalamazoo College Hornets.
The win improves Capital to 4-5 as they prepare for their final game before the holiday break.
Across the game, Capital shot an even 50% from the floor, going 29-for-58 overall. That was complemented by 40% from beyond the arc and 70% from the free throw line. On the other side, KZOO managed just a 36% conversion rate from the floor and a meager 23% from deep.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Comets scored on their opening possession as
Joe Thompson laid in a pass from Carter COmbs to get the game going. Combs would follow that up by scoring the game's next five points and then assisting on a layup from
Griffin Doseck to carry the Comet lead out to 9-0. There, a free throw by Doseck and a jumper from
Justin Nixon built a 12-0 lead before the Hornets' Caleb Caul would finally get the visitors on the board after more than five minutes had elapsed.
Despite the bucket by Caul, Capital kept the momentum on their side and scored another seven points, courtesy of Nixon and
Tre Hammond.
After the early 19-2 run to start the game, the Comets settled into the game and kept the lead at just 19 at the halftime horn, 37-18.
In the second half, Capital came out looking to shoot, and they opened the lead out to 25 points as
Carter Combs scored a quick eight points courtesy of two 3-pointers and a jumper in the paint.
Just a couple moments later,
Griffin Doseck scored a layup to give Cap their largest lead at 26 points. With that cushion, the Purple and White slowed the pace and carried out the lead for the remainder of the game, eventually winning 75-57.
THE NUMBERS
Carter Combs led the way in the scoring column, dropping 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor. He added eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals in the effort. The 22 points marked a new career-high for Combs, who previously scored 21 at Muskingum in January of 2021.
Tre Hammond was the only other Comet in double digits with 13 points, thanks to a 4-for-7 clip, including 3-of-5 from range. Hammond added two rebounds.
Joe Thompson put up nine points and three boards, while
Griffin Doseck added seven points, five boards and two assists.
Kaleb Crawford was good for seven points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Justin Nixon rounded out the leading scorers with eight points, five boards and two steals.
THE OPPONENT
Points - Josh Decker (17)
Rebounds - Caleb Caul (5)
Assists - Addison Atwater (3)
Blocks - Josh Decker (1)
Steals - Addison Atwater (6)
UP NEXT
Capital will head to Ada, Ohio on Saturday, December 17th for their final game of 2022 as they play at Ohio Northern University. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and will precede the Capital women who begin at approximately 4 p.m.
