COLUMBUS, Ohio - Capital University men's basketball hosted the Mount Union Purple Raiders in an OAC matchup on Saturday afternoon. After a sloppy first half from both sides, the duo of McKane Finkenbine and Justin Nixon lit up the court for the Comets in the second half of action. The game came down to the wire, and Mount Union was able to do just enough to edge out Capital 66-64 in an absolute thriller. 

The close loss drops Capital to 6-11 overall and 3-7 in OAC conference play. The win moves the OAC-leading Purple Raiders to 12-5 overall and 9-1 in conference play.

Mount Union started the game off in full control. After an early Capital basket, they were able to go on a 9-1 run. The Comets struck back though, and a pair of three-pointers from McKane Finkenbine kept it close. There was sloppy play from both teams that would go on until halftime, with both sides missing open shots. Despite nine offensive boards in the first half, the Comets were not able to capitalize on the Purple Raider's mistakes. Once Mount Union found their footing, Capital was not able to keep up, leading to a first half score of 39-28.

Capital came into the second half like a completely different team. Justin Nixon and McKane Finkenbine were on fire, and the rest of the squad was able to feed off of their energy. After being down 39-28, the Comets took their first lead since the first basket with 14:55 to go in the game. This was the result of a 10-2 run spurred by none other than Finkenbine, who was lights out from beyond the arc shooting an incredible 60% on the night (6-10). Justin Nixon was efficient in his domain as well, going 6-10 from the field and dominating the paint. The Purple Raiders were able to take the lead back, but the Comets kept fighting. A big three-point bucket late in the game from Se'Ron Calloway-White cut the Mount Union lead to just two points with a score of 60-58. The game remained close, and Mount Union had the ball in a tie game with the clock running out. The Purple Raiders drove the lane and missed their layup, but before Capital could take a breath of fresh air, Mount Union tipped in their own miss putting the Comets down two points with 5.4 seconds left. The Purple and White managed to get the ball under the basket with an opportunity to win, but Mount Union's defense got the stop to end it, leading to a final score of 66-64.

THE NUMBERS
McKane Finkenbine had himself a night, leading the Comets in scoring with 23 points and going 6-10 from beyond the arc. He also led the team in assists with five, impacting the game in as many ways as he could.

Justin Nixon was dominant in the paint scoring 19 points and co-leading the team in rebounds with nine. He made a difference on the defensive side as well, leading the team in steals with two.

Eljae Deas played lockdown defense and led the team in blocks with three.

Brody Gowen was the other board man tonight, bringing in nine rebounds along with Nixon to lead the team.

UP NEXT
The Capital University men's basketball team will travel to Tiffin, Ohio to take on the Heidelberg Student Princes. The game is set to take place Wednesday, January 29th at 7:00 pm.