The Capital University men's basketball team, a winner of seven straight games heading into play this week, enters a stretch of five of its next seven contests on the road.
Capital visits Muskingum on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest in New Concord, Ohio, before heading to Ada on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off at Ohio Northern.
The Crusaders (9-4 overall, 6-0 Ohio Athletic Conference) begin the week alone atop the OAC standings after Marietta fell at Baldwin Wallace on Saturday. Capital started the 2013 calendar year with a pair of comfortable victories, defeating Denison on the road 68-45 on Thursday before a 100-62 triumph over cross-town rival Otterbein two days later at the Capital Center.
Against Denison, the Crusaders wrapped up non-conference play with a fine defensive effort, holding the Big Red to just 31.4 percent shooting, including a 21.7 percent clip in the second half. Senior forward Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio) knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points along with six rebounds. Junior guard Mitch Westerheide (Ft. Loramie, Ohio) added 15 points and four assists.
On Saturday against the Cardinals, Capital knocked down 15 three-pointers, hit a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line and shot 58.7 percent from the field for the contest. The Crusaders reached the 100-point plateau for the first time since tallying 113 against John Carroll on Feb. 2, 2008, at the Capital Center.
Senior guard Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio) posted a career-high 25 points and beat his previous career best in 3-pointers made with seven (he had six against Morrisville State on Dec. 16, 2011). Freshman guard AJ Dixon (Hilliard, Ohio) also reached a career high with 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Muskingum (1-12, 0-6) enters Wednesday's affair after splitting a pair of games last week. The Muskies posted their first win of the season at Franciscan 73-62 on Wednesday before falling 92-67 at Heidelberg on Saturday. Dave Brown, who currently leads the league in scoring with 17.9 points per game, led Muskingum in each contest with 17 points against Franciscan and 20 against the 'Berg.
The Muskies lead the conference in free throws made and attempted per game, and free throw percentage (75.9). Clay Owings averages 10.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per affair, the latter mark ranking third in the league.
The Crusaders swept a pair of games against Muskingum a year ago, closing out the regular season and a share of the OAC regular season title on Feb. 18, 2012, with a 60-55 victory over the Muskies at the Capital Center. Niekamp led the team with 17 points in the winning effort.
Ohio Northern (7-6, 3-3) split a pair of road games last week, falling 67-61 at Marietta on Wednesday before knocking off Mount Union 69-63 in Alliance on Saturday. Dominique Royal paced the Polar Bears with 16 points against the Pioneers, while Lucas Pennington led ONU with a game-high 21 points against the Purple Raiders.
Ohio Northern, which hosts Heidelberg on Wednesday prior to Saturday's game against Capital, ranks in the top three in the conference in both field goal percentage (46.3 percent) and turnovers per game (11.5). Branden Rushton ranks fourth in the OAC with 16.0 points per contest, while Pennington (12.8 ppg), Royal (10.3) and Jared Horstman (10.1) also average double figures in scoring.
The Crusaders won all three contests between the two teams in 2011-12 by a combined 12 points. Capital wrapped up a berth in the OAC Tournament final with a 66-61 victory on Feb. 23, 2012, in a semifinal match at the Capital Center. Niekamp led all scorers with 22 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
