COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University men's basketball team broke a scoreless tie after just 42 seconds and did not look back as they led the duration of the game en route to a thrilling 61-58 win over crosstown rivals Otterbein University on Saturday evening. 

The Comets, improve their overall season record to 7-1 and begin 1-0 within the OAC, while Otterbein slips back to 4-2 and 0-1 in the conference. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Capital got on the board first thanks to a layup from Baden Forup. Shortly after Forup's layup, Carter Combs extended the Comet advantage with a fastbreak 3-pointer off an assist from McKane Finkenbine. 

With the early jump start, Capital played in front the rest of the way, thanks heavily to a 14-0 run to close out the first half of play. The run of form was spurred on by a block from Forup, and then made buckets from Forup himself, Combs, Justin Nixon, Dom Moegerle, Deon Miller and Alex Eyink. With the immense run over that final 7:25 of the first half, Capital went to the break leading 35-20. 

After halftime, the Cardinals emerged from the locker room looking to cut into Capital's lead, to which they had early success. The first seven points of the second half went the way of the visitors, but a layup from Forup finally got the Comets on the board after 3:33 of play. 

Otterbein continued to chip away, but Capital was able to keep the spread at six or seven points for much of the half. However, a jump shot from Cam Evans closed the gap to 53-52, with Cap still ahead. 

Back-to-back baskets from Forup and Finkenbine, along with a pair of free throws from Finkenbine gave Capital a much needed boost in momentum. Again, the Cardinals scrapped back into the game, but strong defense all around led to the Comets hanging on for the exciting win. The highlight of the defensive effort proved to be Forup's block on Cam Evans' step-back 3-pointer with just 20 seconds remaining in the game. Capital hung on for the final seconds, eventually winning 61-58. 

THE NUMBERS
Baden Forup and McKane Finkenbine each scored 10 points to lead the Comets in the game. Forup put up his 10 points on 5-of-7 from the floor while adding five rebounds and three blocks. Finkenbine added eight rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal to his performance as well. 

Deon Miller scored eight points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting. He added five rebounds. 

Carter Combs, Alex Eyink, and Dom Moegerle all finished with seven points each. Combs added five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Eyink added two rebounds and Moegerle contributed six rebounds, an assist and a block. 

Both Justin Nixon and Nate Gerber added six points from the bench. Nixon also added five rebounds and three assists, while Gerber added a block. 

UP NEXT
Capital will continue OAC play as they travel to currently ranked No. 19 Marietta College on Wednesday, December 6th.