Related Links:
Hall of Fame induction – Saturday
The Capital University men's basketball team plays its second straight road game before hosting a perennial Ohio Athletic Conference contender to close out the coming week.
The Crusaders (13-6 overall, 10-2 OAC), who are currently tied atop the OAC standings with Marietta, visit Wilmington on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. before welcoming John Carroll to the Capital Center for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday.
During halftime of Saturday's affair, the Capital athletics department will recognize its five inductees into the Athletics Hall of Fame as well as two other award winners. Joe Jacubus '73, a four-year letter winner for the men's basketball team, and Dave Cecutti '77, a former player and head coach (1986-89) for the Crusaders, are among the honorees.
After dropping two straight games, Capital got back on track last week with a home win against Heidelberg on Wednesday and a victory at Mount Union on Saturday in Alliance.
Against Heidelberg, the Crusaders shot 56.7 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the contest in a 77-62 triumph. Seniors Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio) and Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio; at right) each shot 9-for-15 from the field and finished with 23 and 21 points, respectively, to lead Capital. The Crusaders held the Student Princes to 43.5 percent shooting in the second period and never trailed after halftime.
Three days later, Capital continued its strong second-half offensive output with 66.7 percent shooting en route to an 82-73 victory. Sommer scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to help the Crusaders close out the win. Niekamp added 13 points, while junior forward Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) totaled 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in his first start of the year. Capital knocked down 11-of-24 from 3-point range as a team.
Wilmington (10-9, 7-5) has surged to fourth place in the league after winning six of its last seven games, including a 76-59 victory at Heidelberg on Saturday. Malcolm Heard II, who was named OAC Player of the Week on Monday, totaled 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Quakers, who shot 51 percent from the floor.
Wilmington is fifth in the conference in both scoring offense (73.2 ppg) and scoring defense (70.3), but ranks atop the league in steals per game (9.21) and turnover margin (+3.21). Heard (14.8 ppg) and Brandon Candella (15.6) each rank in the top 10 in the OAC in scoring, while Heard is the league's third-best rebounder at 7.1 per contest.
In the first game between the Crusaders and Quakers this season, Niekamp grabbed a loose ball and put home a jumper in the paint to break a tie with three seconds remaining and give Capital a 70-68 victory on Dec. 18 at the Capital Center. The Crusaders led by as many as 10 in the second half before Wilmington climbed back into the game. The Quakers had a good look at a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot hit long.
John Carroll (9-9, 6-6), which shared the OAC regular season title a year ago with Capital, won at Muskingum 78-64 on Saturday for its third triumph in the last four games. Kyle Hubbard paced the Blue Streaks with 17 points as JCU shot 54.2 percent from the floor and made 19 free throws, 12 more than the Muskies attempted.
The Blue Streaks boast the conference's top scoring offense at 78.3 points per game, but allow 77.0 points at the other end, standing ninth in the league in that category. Hubbard leads John Carroll with 16.1 points per game as four other players average between 8.8 and 9.7 points. Kenny Janz is the team's leader in rebounding (7.5 per game) and blocked shots (30), and also leads the OAC in field goal percentage at an astounding 76.5 percent (62-for-81).
The Crusaders won at John Carroll for the first time since 2007 on Dec. 15, when the team posted an 83-71 victory in University Heights. Junior forward Jared Cashen (Norwalk, Ohio) recorded a career-high 16 points, including 12 in the first half, while senior guard Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio) added 15 points off the bench.
