Trailing 66-58 with 5:41 remaining, the Crusaders closed the contest on a 16-4 run. Mitchell followed a pair of free throw makes with a three-point play on Capital’s next possession to give the Crusaders their first lead in the second half, 67-66, with 2:45 left.
Ohio Northern’s Kyle Gehle made a pair of free throws, but sophomore forward Casey Brown made a layup at the 1:51 mark, putting Capital ahead 69-68. Bart Hostetler’s acrobatic layup gave the Polar Bears a 70-69 edge, but Stahl answered with a short jump shot and 71-70 Capital lead.
After Ohio Northern’s Jake Cannan missed a jump shot, sophomore Ryan Wood was fouled and made both free throws with 18 seconds remaining, pushing Capital’s lead to 73-70. Cannan missed a three-pointer on the other end, and Mitchell rebounded a missed Crusader free throw to close the game.
The Polar Bears led 39-37 at halftime, shooting 16-for-25 (64 percent) from the field in the first half, including six made three-pointers. Gehle scored 16 points, Cannan had 13, and the team’s leading scorer, Greg Badenhop, added 11 off the bench.
Stahl shot 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, and also had five rebounds. Mitchell grabbed a game-high six rebounds and went 5-of-7 from the field, and Wood finished with 11 points.
The Crusaders play their final regular season home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Heidelberg College.
#19 Ohio Northern vs Capital 02/10/07 2 p.m. at Columbus, Ohio - The Capital Center CAPITAL 74, #19 OHIO NORTHERN 70 #19 OHIO NORTHERN (17-6, 10-6 OAC) Kyle Gehle 4-9 5-6 16; Jake Cannan 5-8 2-2 13; Greg Badenhop 5-11 0-1 11; Bart Hostetler 2-3 4-4 8; Ryan Lee 3-7 0-0 7; Michael Hunter 2-4 1-4 5; Kurtis Brown 1-2 1-2 4; Loudan Hammersmith 1-2 0-0 2; Jared Bostelman 1-3 0-0 2; Ezra Bradshaw 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 25-50 13-20 70. CAPITAL (15-7, 12-4 OAC) Nate Stahl 6-9 5-6 21; Quintin Mitchell 5-7 5-8 15; Ryan Wood 3-7 4-4 11; Pat Stolly 2-4 2-4 7; Ben Gunn 2-3 1-2 5; Casey Brown 2-2 1-2 5; Steve Kyser 2-8 0-0 4; Ross Niekamp 1-2 0-0 2; Brian Alge 0-0 2-2 2; Jake Fanning 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 23-44 22-30 74. #19 Ohio Northern............. 39 31 - 70 Capital....................... 37 37 - 74 3-point goals--#19 Ohio Northern 7-21 (Kyle Gehle 3-7; Greg Badenhop 1-6; Jake Cannan 1-2; Ryan Lee 1-2; Kurtis Brown 1-2; Jared Bostelman 0-2), Capital 6-13 (Nate Stahl 4-5; Ryan Wood 1-3; Pat Stolly 1-2; Steve Kyser 0-1; Ross Niekamp 0-1; Jake Fanning 0-1). Fouled out--#19 Ohio Northern-Bart Hostetler, Capital-None. Rebounds--#19 Ohio Northern 26 (Kurtis Brown 5), Capital 29 (Quintin Mitchell 6). Assists--#19 Ohio Northern 11 (Ryan Lee 3; Bart Hostetler 3), Capital 15 (Pat Stolly 4; Jake Fanning 4). Total fouls--#19 Ohio Northern 22, Capital 16. Technical fouls--#19 Ohio Northern-None, Capital-None. A-1134