Jan. 31, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — Senior Eric Lechlitner (Seven Hills/Normandy) had the best offensive performance of his Marietta College basketball career, but a 6:37 first-half scoring drought proved costly as the Pioneers fell to visiting Capital University, 65-52, Wednesday (Jan. 31) evening on Fenton Court. [Box Score]

The win kept Capital, who improves to 12-7 overall, in first place with a 9-4 Ohio Athletic Conference record. Marietta falls to 5-15, 1-12 in the OAC.

Lechlitner, Marietta's defensive-minded guard who regularly holds the challenge of guarding its opponent's best shooter, finished 4-of-4 from the field to score a career-high 11 points. Senior Matt Rucker (Proctorville/Chesapeake) added 14 points and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) contributed 13 points in a losing effort.

Capital was paced by Casey Brown with 13 points off the bench, while Ben Gunn added 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

After Capital scored the first bucket of the night, Marietta jumped out of the gate by building a 13-7 lead after seven minutes, hitting three from deep to go along with a pair of jumpers. The Crusaders used a 9-2 run to regain the lead, 15-14, and then the score was tied, 20-20, with 6:37 after Lechlitner hit a pair of free throws. From there, the rest of the first half was all Capital, as it scored 16 unanswered points to take a 36-20 lead into intermission.

Marietta, who finished 17-of-47 (.362) from the floor, 6-of-17 (.353) from long range and 12-of-21 (.571) from the line, never got within single digits the rest of the way. Capital shot 25-of-55 (.455) overall, including 5-of-13 (.385) from beyond the arc. It also connected on 10-of-15 (.667) from the line. The Crusaders dominated the boards, out rebounding the Pioneers 27-11 in the first half and 39-25 overall. Marietta forced 14 turnovers while it gave the ball back to Capital 15 times.

The Pioneers return to action Saturday (Feb. 2) when they travel to Tiffin to take on Heidelberg at 3 p.m.

Senior Eric Lechlitner scored a career-high 11 points Wednesday against Capital

Box Score