BEXLEY — Ohio Northern rallied from an 18-point second half deficit, but its comeback attempt fell just short as host Capital won 80-77 in an Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Capital Center.
The Polar Bears fall to 9-11 overall and 5-8 in OAC play, while the Crusaders improve to 13-7 and stay in first place in the league with a 10-3 mark.
Sophomore Branden Rushton led three Ohio Northern players in double figures in scoring with 21 points.
Senior Scott Schnelle added 18 points and sophomore Jared Horstman scored 12 points for ONU.
The Crusaders had five players in double figures, paced by Kelly Winter with 18 points and Spencer Niekamp with 16 points.
Capital used an 8-0 run early in the second half to take a commanding 56-38 lead with 14:51 left to play.
But Northern used a pair of three-pointers by Horstman and one by senior Logan Conley to spark a 21-11 run as the Polar Bears got within 70-63 with 6:40 left in the game.
Rushton nailed a 3-pointer at the 2:08 mark and the Polar Bears were within 74-70.
After a pair of free throws with :55 left by Winter extended CU's lead to 76-70, but Rushton answered with a tough basket inside and a free throw to boot and the deficit was just 76-73 with 42.7 seconds to play.
Two CU free throws made it 78-73, but Rushton answered immediately with a layup and the lead was 78-75 with 24.6 seconds remaining.
Ban Jackson made two of four throws to make it a two-score game again at 80-75 with 11.2 seconds left and seal the victory for CU.
Ohio Northern made 29 of 50 field goal attempts for 58.0 percent, while Capital shot 57.8 percent on 26-of-45 shooting.
ONU out-rebounded CU 31-19 behind six rebounds each from Schnelle and freshman Adam Bair.
Northern started quick, as a steal and fast break layup by Schnelle gave ONU a quick 11-5 lead just 3:12 gone in the game.
But CU responded with an 22-3 run over the next 4:52 to take a 27-14 lead with 11:56 left in the half.
Northern chipped away at the lead and a basket by sophomore Jared Horstman pulled ONU within 34-27 with 4:16 left in the half.
The Crusaders then scored seven straight to go up 41-27 in the final minute before settling for a 43-30 halftime lead.
Schnelle scored 18 points, giving him 971 in 98 career games and pulls him within 29 points of becoming the 36th member of ONU's 1,000-Point Club.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday with a 3 pm contest at home against Marietta at the ONU Sports Center.