Early Deficit Too Much to Overcome for Crusaders

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The Capital University men's basketball team fought back from a 17-point first half deficit but came up just short Saturday in a 49-47 defeat against No. 19 St. Mary's (Md.) on the first day of the Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Crusaders (1-3 overall) came back from a double-digit, first-half deficit and had the ball in the closing moments with a chance to tie or win. Senior wing Michael Sommer's 3-point attempt just before the buzzer sounded did not fall, and the team fell just short in its valiant comeback attempt against the Seahawks, who are ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Senior forward Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio) tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Crusaders, who shot 35.3 percent from the floor but held St. Mary's to 35.4 percent shooting on the other end. Five other players finished with five or more points for Capital.

After trailing 23-6 just under 12 minutes into the contest, Capital closed to within 28-20 at halftime, then cut their deficit to one point with 7:29 to play in the second half, when the team shot 50 percent from the field, on a lay-up by Westerheide.

Senior guard Damon Dillard (Columbus, Ohio) brought Capital to within 46-45 on a lay-up with 2:19 on the clock. After the two teams exchanged several possessions, the Seahawks (2-1) took a three-point lead on a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, junior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) knocked in a lay-up to cut it to one again, and when St. Mary's converted just one of two free throws on the other end, the stage was set for a game-tying or –winning bucket.

The Seahawks made 13-of-22 from the free throw line compared to 4-for-8 for the Crusaders.

Capital returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the tournament's consolation game. The Crusaders will take on the loser of Saturday's St. Vincent (Pa.)-Carnegie Mellon contest.