With Wilmington holding an eight-point lead and the 600-plus green-clad supporter whipped into frenzy, a tactical change and a NBA Jams-esque performance lifted Capital to the 82-64 victory over the Fightin' Quakers Wednesday in Ohio Athletic Conference at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.

The Crusaders switched to a zone and senior Michael Sommer scored 14 straight points during Capital's 25-2 run. Sommer finished with 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, scoring 20 of the 31 in the second half.

"It was an incredible individual performance by Michael Sommer," said head coach K.C. Hunt. "We become complacent in the last nine minutes and took a deep breath. You can't do that against a quality team; you have to stay urgent. When they went into a zone, we started settling for jump shots instead of attacking the basket."

For the first 30 minutes, Wilmington used a plethora of pressure relieving back cuts to shoot 50 percent from the field. But the zone stifled the Fightin' Quakers down the stretch and they shot just 4-of-15 in the final nine minutes.

In the first half, the teams traded the lead four times with four ties as both teams fought tooth and nail. The Crusaders had control early, opening up a six-point lead midway through the first half. However, Wilmington went on a quick spurt, and knotted the game on a three-pointer from junior Malcolm Heard II (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington). Capital would take a three-point lead into the break.

Wilmington decked out in their road green uniforms were supported by its student body, which Hunt recognized.

"It was a great environment for a college basketball game," said Hunt. "For 31 minutes it was great game for us, and for the last nine minutes, it was a great game for Capital. It was a heck of a Division III environment."

Heard, who came off the bench, finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. It was the sixth time this season, and the third straight game, the junior scored at least 20 points. He added a team-high six rebounds.

Senior Brandon Candella (West Chester, OH/Lakota West) added 15 points, and now needs just eight points to become the 24th player in school history to score 1,000 points. With his five made field goals, Candella surpassed his career-best 96 field goals in a season. He has now made 98 field goals on the year.

Sophomore Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) added eight points and a team-high four assists.

Wilmington (10-10 overall, 7-5 OAC) travels to Baldwin-Wallace 3 p.m. Saturday.