COLUMBUS, Ohio – Needing a win to earn the sixth and final spot in the upcoming OAC tournament, the Capital University men's basketball team delivered with a dominant second half effort over the visiting Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets, eventually winning 80-67. 

The win gave Capital the No. 6 seed heading into next week's conference tournament where they will travel to No. 3 seeded Heidelberg University on Tuesday, February 21st for a 7 p.m. contest. This season, the men's and women's basketball OAC tournaments moved from the typical eight teams down to six, thus making the road into the tourney that much more challenging this season. 

Today's result puts both Capital and BW to 12-13 overall and 8-10 in the OAC. The Comets held the tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets after completing the season sweep in the head-to-head battles. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Capital got going early as they traded points with BW, thanks to a 3-pointer from Dom Moegerle and a layup by Justin Nixon a couple of moments later, making the score an early 5-5. 

A first-half lead was established for the Comets after 5:20 of action as Ryan Suever hit a jumper, breaking a 10-10 deadlock. That lead would extend to as many as 12 points in the first half, but a late Yellow Jacket surge trimmed the deficit to just 30-29 at the halftime break. 

Out of the locker room, Moegerle again kickstarted the action for CU as he hit a jumper to get the scoring going. After a brief flurry from the visitors to take 37-36 lead, A strong put-back layup from Griffin Doseck swung the momentum back in the favor of the home side. Doseck then nailed a triple on the team's next trip down the floor to keep the momentum fully in Capital's favor. 

Over the game's final 10 minutes of action, the Comets turned a dominant performance, holding onto an established lead and eventually winning 80-67 at the final horn. Alex Eyink, Carter Combs and McKane Finkenbine all aided in the final effort as they combined for a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line as BW desperately tried to stop the clock to get back into it. 

THE NUMBERS
Nate Gerber delivered a career performance finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes on the floor. His 18 points were a career-high and came courtesy of an efficient 7-of-11 from the floor.  The seven caroms were also a career-best for the big man. 

Dom Moegerle also finished in double digits with 14 points on 60% shooting. He added two boards, two assists and two thunderous blocks. 

McKane Finkenbine ended the game with solid numbers, going for 10 points, three rebounds, and four assists. 

Griffin Doseck (9), Ryan Suever (8), Justin Nixon (8) and Alex Eyink (6) also finished with solid point totals. Carter Combs (5) and Tre Hammond (2) combined for the other points. 

THE OPPONENT
Points - Anthony Mazzeo (19)
Rebounds - Mazzeo (6)
Assists - Jake Snyder (6)
Blocks - Mazzeo/Snyder (1)
Steals - Mazzeo/Zoltan Nagy (2)

SENIOR DAY
Prior to tipoff, Capital Athletics and the Men's Basketball program honored seniors Ryan Roth, Griffin Doseck and Joe Thompson for their efforts within the program for the past four years. 

UP NEXT
As mentioned, Capital will now pay a visit to Heidelberg on Tuesday, February 21st at 7 p.m. in the first round of the OAC Tournament.