With the game hanging in the balance, the Capital Crusaders went on a 10-2 run to snap a tie ballgame, and to post the 79-67 win over the Wilmington College men's basketball team Wednesday (December 2, 2015) in Ohio Athletic Conference action in Fred Raizk Arena at Hermann Court.
"We have to get better at a lot of little things; free throw box outs, not gambling when the game is on the line, and just be more solid all the way around," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "I thought we struggled to compete at the level we need to win. We have to evaluate how hard we have to play to win games in this league; possession by possession, not just when we want to."
After sophomore Travis Gleason (Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg) hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 57 with 6:22 remaining, the Crusaders embarked on the aforementioned run.
It was a back and forth battle all the way with eight lead changes and five ties over the 40 minutes.
Once again there was a huge disparity from the foul line as Capital attempted 33 free throws (25-of-33), while Wilmington shot just 15 (13-of-15).
Sophomore Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) led the way with 22 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, and making all six of his free throws.
"CJ is CJ, a really good basketball player," said Hunt. "We have to do a better job of getting him shots. But, we all can play better. Every experience for this team is a new experience, and we have to learn from this game and better because of it."
Gleason finished with nine points, while sophomore D.J. Iles (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville Perry) dished out a team-high five assists with a team-high three steals.
Freshman Will Patrick (Chester, PA/Pickerington (OH) Central) added eight points with a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Zach McCorkle (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods) added six boards and freshman Jordan Hecker (Delaware, OH/Rutherford B. Hayes) chipped in with a team-high three blocks and six rebounds.
Wilmington (1-4 overall, 0-1 in the OAC) travels to face No. 9 Marietta 3 p.m. Saturday.
