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2002-03 OAC Championship Recognition
OAC Men's Basketball Standings
The Capital University men's basketball team looks to clinch its second consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship this week as the team concludes the regular season with a pair of home games.
The first-place Crusaders (17-6 overall, 14-2 OAC) currently hold a one-game lead over Marietta. With a victory Wednesday against Muskingum, Capital clinches at least a share of the conference regular season title. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. at the Capital Center.
The Crusaders welcome Ohio Northern to the Capital Center on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start. Seniors (all pictured above) Tim Congrove (Circleville, Ohio), Damon Dillard (Columbus, Ohio), Spencer Niekamp (St. Henry, Ohio), Michael Sommer (Celina, Ohio) and Mitch Westerheide (Ft. Loramie, Ohio) will be recognized prior to playing their final regular season home contest.
Capital will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2002-03 OAC regular season championship on Saturday afternoon. Members of that team will be honored during a brief halftime ceremony.
Last week, the Crusaders picked up a pair of critical road wins to extend their winning streak to six games.
On Wednesday, Capital exacted revenge for an earlier loss against Marietta by defeating the Pioneers 70-67 in overtime. Sommer led the Crusaders with 18 points, including five in the last 1:01 of the extra period. Niekamp tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while junior Ben Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) contributed with 12 points and five rebounds. The contest featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.
Capital jumped out to a 49-26 halftime advantage on Saturday en route to a 75-64 victory over cross-town rival Otterbein. Sommer was an efficient 8-of-11 from the field to lead all scorers with 23 points for the Crusaders, who shot a blazing 65.4 percent in the first half, including an 8-for-12 clip from 3-point range. The Cardinals crept back in the second half, reducing their deficit all the way down to six points before Capital knocked down 5-of-6 free throws in the final 54 seconds to secure the win.
Westerheide posted 15 points and six assists, while Niekamp registered 14 points. The Crusaders committed just seven turnovers and shot 54.2 percent in the affair.
Muskingum (1-22, 0-16) enters the week following a 79-72 home setback against Heidelberg. Dave Brown, the league's leading scorer at 16.9 points per contest, led the Muskies with a career-high 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field. Muskingum was outrebounded 46-36 in the contest.
Four other players average between 7.9 and 8.9 points for the Muskies, who average 67.9 points per game while surrendering 83.6.
Capital has won the last seven meetings in the series between the two teams, including a 90-62 victory on Jan. 9 in New Concord. Niekamp paced the Crusaders' balanced scoring attack with 23 points as the team knocked down 13 three-pointers and more than 56 percent of its looks from the field.
Ohio Northern (11-12, 7-9) had won three in a row before falling 72-57 at home against Mount Union on Saturday. Dominique Royal and Branden Rushton led the Polar Bears with 15 points apiece.
Rushton averages 15.3 points per game to lead Ohio Northern, which ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense (70.5 ppg) and seventh in scoring offense (71.7). Three other players average double figures in scoring, including Royal (11.4), Jared Horstman (11.3) and Lucas Pennington (10.4).
After winning all three meetings last season, Capital won its fourth straight over the Polar Bears by a 69-64 margin on Jan. 12 in Ada. Niekamp and Congrove tallied 17 points each to lead the Crusaders, who made 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 33 seconds to seal the road victory.
