#8 Capital holds off Marietta men 84-75
OAC Player of the Week Kevin Knab led all scorers with 19 points

Jan. 21, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men’s basketball team gave #8 Capital University all that it could handle Wednesday (Jan. 21) night in front of a packed crowd at Ban Johnson Arena but in the end Capital prevailed 84-75.

The score was tied, 66-66, with 7:01 to go in the game before the visiting Crusaders, who started five seniors, took the lead for good and survived what was a valiant effort by Head Coach Jon VanderWal’s young squad, which started five freshmen. The loss dropped Marietta’s record back to 8-8 overall 3-6 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Crusaders, who entered the game in sole possession of first place in the OAC, improved to 15-1 overall and 8-1 in the Conference.

The Crusaders struck first, scoring the initial six points of the ball game. Marietta battled back to tie the score, 12-12, after a layup from freshman forward Kevin Knab (Lakewood), the reigning OAC Player of the Week, with 14:58 to play in the opening half. Capital outscored the Pioneers 18-7 over the next 5:28 to lead 30-19 with 9:30 remaining before intermission. The Pioneers chipped away at the lead for the rest of the half. Freshman guard Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Kilbourne) scored an acrobatic layup while also drawing the foul to tie the score at 34-34. Lindquist then converted the three-point play to give the Pioneers their first lead, 35-34, with 5:18 to go in the stanza. Capital managed to regain the lead down the stretch and went into the locker room leading by two points, 46-44.

Senior guard Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) opened the second half with a three-point bomb to give the Pioneers back the lead, 47-46, just 20 seconds into the period. A three-pointer from freshman Joe Puch (Brunswick) gave Marietta its biggest lead, 57-53, with 14:32 remaining in the game. Both teams traded baskets over the next 7:30, which led to the score being tied, 66-66, with 7:01 to go. Four straight points from Capital’s Quintin Marshall helped the Crusaders take the lead for good. A three-pointer from senior Mike Stanek (Hartville/Marlington) cut the Pioneers’ deficit to one point, 70-69, but that would be as close as Marietta would get. The Pioneers could not manage to get the necessary stops down the stretch and fell 84-75.

Knab led all scorers with 19 points; he also collected a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman wing Trevor Halter (Malvern) scored 14 points, while Puch chipped in with 12 points. Creasap followed with 11 points.

Mitchell came off the bench to pace Capital with 18 points and seven boards. Nate Stahl scored 15 points, while Ryan Wood had 14. Adam Jones contributed 11 points, and Casey Brown recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

For the game, Marietta shot 25-of-60 (.417) from the field, 11-of-31 (.355) from behind the arc and 14-of-15 (.933) from the free throw line. Capital finished 30-of-57 (.526) from the field, 5-of-14 (.357) from three-point range and 19-of-22 (.864) from the free throw line. The Crusaders held the edge in rebounding, 41-23, but committed 14 turnovers to Marietta’s 10.

The Pioneers are back in action Saturday (Jan. 24) afternoon when they visit Ohio Northern University. Tip-off will be at 3 p.m.

Freshman Kevin Knab had a game-high 19 points against #8 Capital.

Box Score