Raider Men's Basketball Team Loses In Opening Round Of OAC Tournament
Chris Switzer
The #8 seeded Mount Union men's basketball team (9-17) lost to #1 seeded Capital (22-4), by a score of 67-54 on Wednesday, February 27 at The Capital Center in Columbus, Ohio.
An 18-0 first half run propelled Capital University's men's basketball team to a big lead, and the Crusaders survived a second half charge to secure a 67-54 victory over Mount Union College in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Wednesday in The Capital Center.
The score was tied at eight when senior forward Steve Kyser made a layup with 15:30 in the first half, and juniors Ross Niekamp and Nate Stahl hit four consecutive shots, including a pair of threes, to bump the lead to 20-8. A jumper by guard Jake Fanning put the Crusaders ahead 26-8 with 10:42 left as Capital scored 18 points in just 4:12 of game action.
Capital led 35-20 going into the break.
However, the Purple Raiders answered with a 12-3 run coming out of the locker room and cut Capital's lead to six just six minutes into the half. A Niekamp 3-pointer stopped the run, but a layup by Mount senior/wing Mike Fatigante brought the Purple Raiders to within four, 43-39. Stahl sank three free-throws and junior Casey Brown made a layup to extend the lead to 50-41 with 9:14 left.
An 8-1 run extended the Crusaders advantage to 61-47 with 4:00 remaining, allowing them to preserve a 67-54 opening round victory.
Individually, Mount was paced by junior/guard Chris Switzer, who scored 15 points. Freshman/forward Dave Pellerite added 11 points while Fatigante contributed 10 points and a team-high five rebounds in his last collegiate game. Junior forward Quintin Mitchell led the Crusaders with 13 points while Stahl added 12.
Mount Union shot .375 from the field compared to .533 for Capital. The Crusaders held a 34-24 rebounding advantage and committed 16 turnovers to 14 for the Raiders.
The Crusaders (22-4), the tourney's top seed and ranked No. 13 in the country, will host the semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday in The Capital Center. Mount Union, the No. 8 seed, ends its season at 9-17 overall.