BEREA, OHIO -- Spencer Niekamp scored a game-high 22 points as the third-seeded Capital University men's basketball team defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival and #6-seeded Baldwin Wallace University, 84-73, today (Wednesday, February 24, 2010) in the OAC Tournament quarterfinals at the Capital Center in Columbus.
The Crusaders are now 19-7 overall and advance to the OAC Tournament semifinals on Friday. With the loss, BW ends its season at 14-12 overall. The Yellow Jackets' 14 victories were six more than the team totaled last season.
In addition to Niekamp for Capital, Scott Robertson totaled 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. BW was led by sophomore point guard Promis Cabbil (Elyria/ Senior) and junior guard Zane Meeder (Erie, Pa./ Fairview) with 13 points each. Senior forward Kyle Brown (Strongsville) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
In the first half, BW erased a four-point deficit and tied the game at 12 apiece on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Scott Voiers (Lutheran West) at the 12:51 mark. Capital answered with a 16-0 run and led 28-12 following a Niekamp jumper at 6:44. The Yellow Jackets chipped away and pulled within 10 on two occasions, the second coming at 35-25 when freshman guard Brandon Schmidt (Wellington) connected on a three-pointer at 2:37. The Crusaders were able to outscore BW 4-1 over the remainder of the half and led 39-26 at intermission.
In the second half, Capital built its lead to 18, at 51-33, on a Tyler Munro layup at 13:22. BW rallied with a 6-0 run capped off by an Ed Householder (Tallmadge) layup at the 12:12 mark. However, the Crusaders quickly stopped the BW run and scored five straight to lead 56-39 at 11:03. The lead grew to a high of 21 at 65-44 at 7:09 and never dipped below 11 the rest of the way.
FOR MORE BW Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd by phone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at nminerd@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
