Box Score

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – The Otterbein University men’s basketball team came up short against visiting Baldwin-Wallace College Wednesday evening, falling 84-76 in the Rike Center.

The loss drops the Cardinals to 3-10 in Ohio Athletic Conference play and 6-14 on the season, while the win moves Baldwin-Wallace to 12-18 overall, 7-6 in the league.

Both teams started strong on the offensive end, combining to shoot 9 of 13 with B-W holding a 14-9 lead after five minutes.

The Yellow Jackets bumped the lead to 21-13 by the 10:28 mark, but Otterbein clawed its way back and jumped on top at 27-26 after a fast break layup from senior Mark Louks with 4:37 to go before the half. The basket capped a 9-0 run and forced a B-W timeout.

The Jackets halted the momentum with a layup on the next trip, and eventually played to a 37-32 halftime lead.

Chris Davis posted 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting for Otterbein in the opening 20 minutes, marking the only player to finishing the first half in double figures.

The Cardinals quickly trimmed the lead to one early in the second half and remained by just two, at 49-47, after a three-pointer from senior Steve Isaac at the 13:32 mark.

Baldwin-Wallace widened the lead to 60-50 as the game clock ticked under 10 minutes, but Otterbein strung together a 10-2 run and trailed 62-60 after Davis split a pair of free-throws with 4:14 to play.

It would be as close as the Cards would get, however, as B-W rattled off eight straight points and never looked back.

Davis finished with game-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds, but struggled at the free-throw line with just six makes on 17 attempts (.352). The Cardinals were 15 of 29 (.517) from the line in the second half and 18 of 34 (.529) for the game.

Senior Brice Rausch turned in a solid offensive effort with 18 points, while sophomore Max Van Meter had 10 in the losing effort. Tyler Ferrell scored 15 points to lead four B-W players in double figures.

Otterbein and Baldwin-Wallace both committed 26 fouls for the game, with a combined 58 free-throw attempts being taken in the second half.

The Cardinals will stay at home to finish out the week as John Carroll visits the Rike Center this Saturday, Feb. 4. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m