MARIETTA, Ohio – Playing on a Tuesday evening, dealing with the headache of the never-ending interstate construction project in Ohio, at the No. 2 team in the country, the Capital University men's basketball team put together a near stunner at Marietta College. 

In what ended up being one of their sharpest road performances of the season, the Purple and White were upended in the end by a final score of 82-74 at the hands of the Pioneers – who won their 19th consecutive game with the win. 

David Sanford had his mid-range jump shot working all evening as the sophomore guard put up a new career-high in scoring with 26 points on 45% shooting the ball. He complimented the effort with four boards, an assist, and a steal. 

Also registering solid performances were Griffin Doseck with 12 points and Dom Moegerle with 10 points. Ryan Suever and Tyler Schreck led the team with seven rebounds each. Schreck and Ryan Roth each dished out four assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing in one of the toughest venues to play in across the OAC, Capital (13-10, 8-8 OAC) put in a first half that was a near carbon copy of the first time they played the Pioneers this year. Earlier this year, on January 19th, Capital and Marietta went to the halftime break knotted at 37-37. This time, Capital trailed 41-37 at the break. The difference coming at the free throw line. Capital knocked down 53% of their shot attempts in the opening half of play which surpassed Marietta's 47% from the floor. Marietta was able to overtake Capital by converting all six of their free throw efforts in the first half, while Cap went scoreless from the stripe. 

With just under four minutes left in the first, Capital found themselves trailing 34-26. Staring the deficit in the face, Capital had to work itself back in the game. Before the halftime buzzer, the Purple and White trimmed the deficit by putting together a run of 11-7 to take the 41-37 scoreline in. The efforts were led forward by a slick alley-oop dunk as Dom Moegerle threw down a lofted pass from Ryan Roth. Roth then closed the half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Cap a boost of momentum. 

Out of the break, Capital continued to benefit from their momentum, slowly chipping away at the Pioneers. With 13:23 left in the game, Cap tied the game as Alex Eyink found Griffin Doseck beyond the arc. There, Doseck rattled home his 3-pointer, knotting the score at 52-52. On their next possession, Joe Thompson knocked down a mid-range jumper putting Cap ahead by two. 

The next four plus minutes shifted drastically in favor of Marietta as they embarked on a 9-2 run leading the hosts to a 61-56 lead with 7:50 left in the game. 

The swing in momentum for Marietta (21-2, 16-0) proved to be the difference at the end of the game as Capital would go cold from the floor in catch-up mode. 

Down the stretch, Capital got a boost from leading scorer, David Sanford, who scored seven points late on via four free throws and a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game. In desperation, Capital fouled to stop the clock, but the Pioneers stayed composed and cashed in their chances to ice the game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
David Sanford hit 20 or more points for the sixth time this season, and sixth time in his career. His 26 tonight marked a career-best, beating his previous best of 23, scored at Olivet earlier this calendar year. 

Enroute to his 12-point game, Griffin Doseck nearly went 100% in every category shooting the ball tonight. He was 3-for-4 overall, 2-for-2 from three, and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. 

Both halves of play ended with identical score lines at 41-37. The difference in the game proved to be at the charity stripe where Marietta hit 21 of their 24 tries from the line. Capital only managed to convert 10 of their 14 tries. 

UP NEXT
The Capital men will wrap up their regular season in Berea on Saturday, taking on the Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets. Tip-off for the season finale is set for 4 p.m. If you're not planning to make the trip north you can follow along at athletics.capital.edu!