Capital Wins Round One, 99-90

In a battle for the top spot of the Ohio Athletic Conference, the Heidelberg College men’s basketball team hosted nationally-ranked Capital University in Seiberling Gymnasium tonight in the first of two meetings on the year. Capital kept its reigns tight on the top spot in the league with a 99-90 victory. The two institutions entered the contest holding the top two spots in the league standings. The setback sits Heidelberg in a two-way tie in second place with Muskingum College with 5-2 league records, while Capital is in first at 7-0. The loss halted Heidelberg’s four-game winning streak and gives the Berg an 11-3 overall record, while Capital improves to 12-2.

Heidelberg overcame some early adversity, which saw the team fall behind 26-11 following a Ryan Wood three-pointer midway through the opening half. Capital extended its lead to 16 points, 29-13, but Heidelberg’s Chad Szalay (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) responded with a three-pointer of his own to begin to cut the Berg’s deficit. A Travis Kinn (Alvada, Ohio / New Riegel) jumper and two Jake Hessey (Crestline, Ohio / Colonel Crawford) free throws pulled Heidelberg within single digits, 39-31, heading into the intermission.

The two teams battled back and forth in the early going of the second half, but Heidelberg cooled off from the field and the Crusaders built an 18-point lead, 65-47, with 11:37 to play in the contest. The Crusaders extended its lead to as many as 23 points, 76-53, but the Berg did not give up.

A Greg Tyson, Jr. (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior) jumper with 1:25 on the clock pulled Heidelberg within single digits at 91-82. Over the final minute of action, Szalay and Hessey combined to score eight points, but the crusaders hit all eight of its attempts from the charity stripe to take home a 99-90 victory.

Leading four in double figures for Heidelberg was Szalay with 25 points, while Andrew Lemmon (Port Clinton, Ohio / Port Clinton) added 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Tyson came off the bench to finish with 14 points and Brian Schmidt (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) contributed 13 points. Josh Calver (Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) dished out five assists and pocketed two steals.

Capital was led by Wood with a game-high 28 points, while Ross Niekamp finished with 14 points. On the glass, Benn Gunn grabbed nine boards.

Heidelberg continues its four-game home stand Saturday when it entertains Muskingum. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.