News Release

WESTERVILLE, OH — Otterbein won its second game over cross-town rival Capital this season with a dramatic 75-73 victory in front of a near capacity crowd in Westerville Saturday night.

The Cardinals up their mark to 15-6 overall and move into a tie for fourth place with Capital at 9-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Crusaders dip to 15-6 on the year.

Otterbein, ranked 25th in the latest d3hoops.com poll, overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to post the victory. The Cardinals outscored Capital 44-33 in the second half, thanks to a 61 percent field goal percentage (13 of 21) in the second stanza.

Senior Aaron Minister (Columbus/Tree of Life) led the Cardinals with a team-high 20 points. Junior Tony Borghese (Columbus/DeSales) scored 14 points while junior Scott Hadley (Lewis Center/Worthington Christian) netted 13.

Capital led for nearly the entire first half and claimed its largest lead of the game at nine, 40-31, heading into halftime.

Otterbein reclaimed the lead, 44-43, with an 11-3 run to start the second half. After a lay-in by Capital's Sam Smith gave the Crusaders a 45-44 advantage, Otterbein regained the lead with a Minister lay-in and would not trail again.

The Cardinals led by as many as six points, 65-59, with 3:58 remaining, but the Crusaders cut the margin to 65-63 with 2:46 left to play.

Capital tied the game at 67 after a lay-up by Sam Smith with 1:15 left.

After Capital's Adam Stolly cut the deficit to one, 71-70, with 17 seconds left, freshman DeQuan Owens (Columbus/Beechcroft) and junior Neil Hohman (Bascom/Hopewell Loudon) made two pairs of charity tosses to give Otterbein a seemingly comfortable 75-70 lead with seven seconds left.

However, David Kalb hit a three for Capital to cut the deficit to 75-73 with five seconds to play.

Hohman came up short on both free throws after being fouled with four seconds left, but Capital's last second desperation heave was no good as time expired.

Stolly led Capital with a game-high 21 points, while Smith finished with 15.

Otterbein will be back in action on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., when it travels to Marietta for an OAC matchup.

Newspaper Box Score

Capital University vs Otterbein College
2/07/04 7:30 p.m. at Rike Center; Westerville, OH
At Rike Center; Westerville, OH

OTTERBEIN COLLEGE 75, CAPITAL UNIVERSITY 73

CAPITAL UNIVERSITY ((15-6, 9-5))
Adam Stolly 6-12 7-8 21; Sam Smith 6-10 2-2 15; Jake Beck 4-7 1-2 9; Mark Denner 4-9 0-0 9; Tyler Alexander 2-6 4-4 8; David Kalb 2-7 0-0 5; Chuck
Bihn 2-4 1-2 5; David Johnson 0-2 1-2 1; Brian Alge 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 16-20 73.

OTTERBEIN COLLEGE ((15-6, 9-5))
Aaron Minister 9-11 2-4 20; Tony Borghese 4-11 3-3 14; Scott Hadley 3-6 6-10 13; DeQuan Owens 3-5 3-4 9; Phil Susi 2-3 0-0 5; Mo Ross 2-4 0-0 5; Kyle Walton 1-3 0-2 2; Tyler Ousley 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-46 19-31 75.

Capital University............   40   33  -   73
Otterbein College.............   31   44  -   75

3-point goals-Capital University 5-12 (Adam Stolly 2-4; Mark Denner 1-4; David Kalb 1-2; Sam Smith 1-1; David Johnson 0-1), Otterbein College 6-11 (Tony Borghese 3-6; Phil Susi 1-1; Scott Hadley 1-2; Mo Ross 1-2). 

Fouled out--Capital University-Adam Stolly; Jake Beck, Otterbein College-None.

Rebounds-Capital University 35 (Chuck Bihn 8), Otterbein College 26 (Neil Hohman 5). 

Assists-Capital University 11 (David Kalb 4), Otterbein College 17 (Neil Hohman 5). 

Total fouls-Capital University 22, Otterbein College 15.

A-3087