UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Capital University men's basketball team hung tough with the OAC-leading John Carroll Blue Streaks on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell late on by a final score of 77-70. 

Capital, now 9-14 overall and 6-10 in the OAC, will be looking at two must-win games this week at home vs. Wilmington on Wednesday and on Saturday vs. Otterbein in order to break into the OAC postseason. JCU sits atop the conference with an 18-5 overall record and a 13-3 OAC mark. 

In the first half, Capital got going sharply on offense by building out a 19-9 lead at the 13:52 mark of the first half. Trailing 9-7, Capital embarked on a 12-0 run that was brought on by four consecutive three-pointers by McKane Finkenbine, bringing the score to 19-9 in favor of the Comets. Unfortunately for Capital, the big lead would not sustain as JCU went back in front at 28-26 at the 9:51 mark of the half. 

From there, the game would remain within six points before ultimately settling at 40-36 by the halftime horn in favor of the Blue Streaks. 

In the second half, JCU would build out a lead by as many as nine points with the score reading 49-40 at the 14:50 mark of the half. A layup from Justin Nixon soon after got Capital back into it and the teams traded blows the remainder of the game. 

With four minutes left, Capital went behind 62-61 and that deficit was one the Comets could not revert, ultimately slipping into desperation mode and sending JCU to the line several times. There, the hosts kept their nerve and inflated the final score out to 77-70 at the final buzzer. 

THE NUMBERS
McKane Finkenbine scored 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, which included five three-point makes. He added six assists, three rebounds and one steal. 

Justin Nixon poured in 20 points on 9-of-15. He added five rebounds, two assists and one steal as well. 

Dom Moegerle was the other Comet to hit double digits, scoring 10 points to go with two assists and one rebound. 

Alex Eyink (7), Brody Gowen (6), Daryl Cooper (3), Se'Ron Calloway-White (2), and Eljae Deas (1) accounted for the other scoring. 

UP NEXT
Capital will return home to The Capital Center for their final two games of the season, both of which are must wins in order to retain hope for the OAC tournament. First, Capital will host Wilmington on Wednesday, February 19th at 7 p.m. Then, the Comets will welcome Otterbein to The Cap Center for the annual Battle for the Oar on Saturday, February 22nd also at 7 p.m.