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Michael Sommer's Game-Winning 3-Pointer
The Capital University men's basketball team continues Ohio Athletic Conference play this Saturday at perennial league power John Carroll at 2 p.m. in University Heights, Ohio.
The Crusaders (5-4 overall, 3-0 OAC) enter the school's week of final examinations on a three-game winning streak after a pair of league wins last week.
Senior wing Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio) hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday to give Capital a thrilling 64-63 victory over Baldwin Wallace at the Capital Center.
Trailing 63-61 with 3.3 seconds on the clock, senior guard Mitch Westerheide (Ft. Loramie, Ohio) took the ball on the end baseline and heaved a pass toward the opposite 3-point line. The ball deflected off four players, including senior forward Spencer Niekamp, to the right wing, where Sommer grabbed it, whirled around and put up a shot falling down over a defender.
The ball rattled in, sending a packed crowd into a frenzy as the student section directly across from the bench engulfed Sommer and his teammates near the bench.
"Spencer and I wound up in the same area, and I just jumped up and managed to get a hand on the ball with three other people," Sommer said. "It fell towards me, so I ran over there and threw it at the basket.
"I shot it and fell into the bench, and I didn't get to see it go in, but I assumed from the reaction of (assistant) coach Tim Boynton, who was laying on the ground next to me, that it was probably in."
Earlier in the second half, Niekamp (at right) became the 31st student-athlete in program history to reach the 1,000 career points milestone. The St. Henry, Ohio, native went from 999 points to 1,001 after Westerheide hit him in stride with a pass in the secondary break with 5:20 to
play.
The bucket also put the Crusaders ahead by eight and forced a Yellow Jackets timeout.
"It's an honor being able to play for four years," Niekamp said. "I can't say I did it all myself. I'm not the type of player to break anyone down, so I have to have good players around me. I'm very thankful for that."
Niekamp finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the contest. Westerheide added 13 points and four assists, while Sommer recorded 11.
"We had control of that game, so it was nice that we're finally starting to get things together," Niekamp said. "We could have lost that game, and Mike bailed us out. We're trying to move forward and not dwell on it too much."
On Wednesday, Capital picked up a 69-60 victory at Heidelberg in its league road opener. The Crusaders held the Student Princes to 31.9 percent shooting and shot 19-for-23 at the free throw line. Niekamp contributed with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio) and junior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) posted 15 and 10 points, respectively.
John Carroll (4-3, 2-1) enters the week off an 82-76 triumph at Ohio Northern on Saturday. Kyle Hubbard registered 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Streaks, who shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 24-of-29 at the free throw line.
Capital's top-ranked scoring defense will be tested against a strong John Carroll offensive attack, which ranks second in the league with 78.3 points per affair. The Blue Streaks also lead the league in free throw percentage (75.8 percent). Hubbard ranks second in the OAC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and ranks in the top five in field goal percentage (60.6) and free throw percentage (87.8).
The Crusaders and Blue Streaks split a pair of games last season. Capital took the most recent contest by an 85-68 margin on Jan. 21 in Columbus. Jackson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Sommer had 15 points.
Michael Sommer's Game-Winning 3-Pointer
The Capital University men's basketball team continues Ohio Athletic Conference play this Saturday at perennial league power John Carroll at 2 p.m. in University Heights, Ohio.
The Crusaders (5-4 overall, 3-0 OAC) enter the school's week of final examinations on a three-game winning streak after a pair of league wins last week.
Senior wing Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio) hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday to give Capital a thrilling 64-63 victory over Baldwin Wallace at the Capital Center.
Trailing 63-61 with 3.3 seconds on the clock, senior guard Mitch Westerheide (Ft. Loramie, Ohio) took the ball on the end baseline and heaved a pass toward the opposite 3-point line. The ball deflected off four players, including senior forward Spencer Niekamp, to the right wing, where Sommer grabbed it, whirled around and put up a shot falling down over a defender.
The ball rattled in, sending a packed crowd into a frenzy as the student section directly across from the bench engulfed Sommer and his teammates near the bench.
"Spencer and I wound up in the same area, and I just jumped up and managed to get a hand on the ball with three other people," Sommer said. "It fell towards me, so I ran over there and threw it at the basket.
"I shot it and fell into the bench, and I didn't get to see it go in, but I assumed from the reaction of (assistant) coach Tim Boynton, who was laying on the ground next to me, that it was probably in."
Earlier in the second half, Niekamp (at right) became the 31st student-athlete in program history to reach the 1,000 career points milestone. The St. Henry, Ohio, native went from 999 points to 1,001 after Westerheide hit him in stride with a pass in the secondary break with 5:20 to
play.The bucket also put the Crusaders ahead by eight and forced a Yellow Jackets timeout.
"It's an honor being able to play for four years," Niekamp said. "I can't say I did it all myself. I'm not the type of player to break anyone down, so I have to have good players around me. I'm very thankful for that."
Niekamp finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the contest. Westerheide added 13 points and four assists, while Sommer recorded 11.
"We had control of that game, so it was nice that we're finally starting to get things together," Niekamp said. "We could have lost that game, and Mike bailed us out. We're trying to move forward and not dwell on it too much."
On Wednesday, Capital picked up a 69-60 victory at Heidelberg in its league road opener. The Crusaders held the Student Princes to 31.9 percent shooting and shot 19-for-23 at the free throw line. Niekamp contributed with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio) and junior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) posted 15 and 10 points, respectively.
John Carroll (4-3, 2-1) enters the week off an 82-76 triumph at Ohio Northern on Saturday. Kyle Hubbard registered 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Streaks, who shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 24-of-29 at the free throw line.
Capital's top-ranked scoring defense will be tested against a strong John Carroll offensive attack, which ranks second in the league with 78.3 points per affair. The Blue Streaks also lead the league in free throw percentage (75.8 percent). Hubbard ranks second in the OAC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and ranks in the top five in field goal percentage (60.6) and free throw percentage (87.8).
The Crusaders and Blue Streaks split a pair of games last season. Capital took the most recent contest by an 85-68 margin on Jan. 21 in Columbus. Jackson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Sommer had 15 points.
