BEXLEY, Ohio—Three Student Princes scored in double figures, but the Heidelberg University men’s basketball team fell to Capital University, 68-60, today in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at the Capital Center in Bexley, Ohio. The loss was the fourth straight for the Berg.
Heidelberg (6-15, 4-10 OAC) was led by senior guard C.J. Powell (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Foley) with 11 points on a five-of-12 shooting performance. Junior second-team All-OAC Dane Givner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Harvest Prep) and junior guard Quintin Aden (Canal Winchester/Harvest Prep) each chipped in nine points and junior honorable mention All-OAC forward Nate Davis (Dayton/Stivers) tallied nine markers and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Capital (14-7, 11-3 OAC) was led by Spencer Niekamp’s game-high 16 points and nine boards. Mitch Westerheide tallied 15 points, Michael Sommer added 14 and Tyler Munro chipped in 11. The win preserves a tie for first place atop the OAC standings for the Crusaders.
Both teams matched each other during the early going with two ties before the 15-minute mark. The Berg opened a 7-0 run and took a 14-7 lead at the 13:15 mark following a three-pointer by Powell.
Capital then sparked a 9-2 run of its own to tie the score, 16-16, when Niekamp made a lay-up at 8:50.
The teams traded leads before the Student Princes jumped out to a 22-17 advantage after Davis canned a jumper at 4:00.
The Crusaders closed the opening half on an 11-2 run as Jared Cashen made a lay-up with just seven seconds left, sending Capital into the break with a 28-23 lead.
The Berg scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score, 28-28, as Aden sank one of two free throws with 17:27 on the clock.
Following two more ties, Capital went on a 19-9 jaunt to take a 47-37 lead at 9:57 when Niekamp made a jumper in the paint. The Crusaders led for the remainder of the game and would lead by as many as 14 points on its way to victory.
The Berg shot 40.4 (21-of-52) percent from the field and 65.2 (15-23) percent from the free throw line.
Capital was 42.1 (24-of-57) percent from the field and 69.6 (16-of-63) percent from the charity stripe, held a 38-36 advantage on the glass and committed just 11 turnovers.
The Student Princes next plays Wednesday, Feb. 8 when they face Ohio Northern University in Ada.