ADA, Ohio --
David Sanford's running 3-pointer as the second-half buzzer rang proved to be the difference in a very competitive, evenly matched contest between the Capital University men's basketball team and Ohio Northern University.
On Sanford's buzzer-beater, Capital emerged victorious, 53-52 despite a sluggish evening of shooting the basketball all-around.
Just two Capital players reached double-digit scoring – Sanford and
Joe Thompson. The latter – Thompson – led the team with 11 points, while Sanford hit 10 points.
Capital had a heavy night on the boards as the team pulled down 42 rebounds, led by
Tyler Schreck who had nine.
Griffin Doseck and Thompson each muscled down seven of their own.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Purple and White grabbed control of the game at the 17:47 mark as a jumper from Kaleb Carwford put Cap ahead 4-2. Capital (11-8, 7-6 OAC) then followed up the jumper on a 6-3 run that pushed them ahead to 10-5.
Capital then opened the game up, further stopping the Polar Bears from offensive success, while adding to their lead. The first-half advantage would grow to as many as 13 points as
Griffin Doseck knocked down a pair of free throws to put Cap ahead 26-13 with 3:38 left.
From there, ONU closed on a 7-0 run, narrowing the Capital halftime lead to 26-20.
After the intermission, the hosts started with the same amount of momentum as they clawed within two on several occasions. Fortunately for Cap, the team was able to put some space between them and the Polar Bear attempt to overtake them.
Joe Thompson sandwiched a jumper from
Ryan Suever with a pair of buckets to extend the lead out to six points. Suever them cashed in on a 3-pointer to push the lead out to nine points, all in the space of 1:10 of gametime.
For the second half,
David Sanford's first 3-pointer of the game came with 8:12 remaining and put Capital ahead 44-32. Unfortunately for Capital, the lead would quickly dwindle as Cap seemed to lift their foot off the gas.
Ohio Northern chipped away quickly at the lead, eventually tying the game and taking the lead at 48-46 with 2:26 left.
Capital was then able to chip back, keeping the game within just a couple of points. However, ONU's Adam Scott hit a jumper and then followed up a 1-for-2 trip to the free throw line by
Alex Eyink with a free throw of his own to put ONU ahead 52-50 with just two seconds left.
As Capital secured the final rebound of Scott's second missed free throw, coach
Damon Goodwin called timeout, setting up a sideline inbounds play.
Out of the timeout,
Ryan Roth was on inbounds duty and found the waiting hand of
David Sanford. There, Sanford hustled his way toward the basket and, while on the run, lofted a 3-pointer toward the hoop. The shot rolled around the hoop and spit up in the air, and luckily for Cap, nestled itself back down in the basket, sending the Capital team into an elated celebration.
As the referees confirmed the basket was off Sanford's hand in time, Capital realized they secured an all-important conference win, with the final score reading 53-52.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
No secrets about it, today was not Capital's best shooting performance of the season as they managed just a 32% field goal percentage, and an even slimmer 22% from beyond the arc. On an off-night shooting, all it takes is one made basket to make the difference and thankfully, Sanford's bucket made the difference.
Capital played some good defense, forcing 12 turnovers and collecting two blocks and five steals.
Tyler Schreck and
Ryan Suever each had a block, while Sanford,
Kaleb Crawford,
Joe Thompson,
Alex Eyink and
Griffin Doseck each collected a steal.
THE OPPONENT
Ohio Northern's CJ Napier led all players with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Brandon Waugh was the lone other ONU player to reach double figures in scoring.
UP NEXT
Capital will host Heidelberg on Wednesday, February 9th at 7 p.m. at the Capital Center.
The game was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 8th but was pushed back a day due to a weekend reschedule for Heidelberg related to Winter Storm Landon.
