WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein suffered a narrow 75-72 loss at the hands of visiting Ohio Northern Wednesday evening in the Rike Center.

The loss drops the Cardinals to 0-7 on the season and 0-3 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while Northern moves to 4-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the league.

Otterbein opened the game on a 12-2 run, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Brian Pollock, the second of which coming at the 15:08 mark.

ONU responded and eventually took a 15-14 lead on a Matt Phillips layup with 10:14 remaining in the opening half.

The game remained close over the next ten minutes as the teams went into halftime locked at 31-31.

Sophomore guard Brice Rausch gave the Cardinals a 37-37 lead on a layup just two minutes into the second half, but the Polar Bears bounced back by going on a quick 7-0 spurt to take a 42-37 lead.

Scott Schnelle then pushed the ONU lead to 46-39 on a pair of free throws with 14:53 showing on the game clock.

OC countered with a 6-0 run of its own to draw within one after senior forward Cory Ratai made a fast break layup off an assist from Rausch.

The contest remained a one-possession game until Pollock buried two free-throws at the 7:25 mark to give OC a 60-56 advantage.

Two minutes later, Ratai extended the lead to 66-59 by converting one-of-two free throws.

Refusing to go away, Ohio Northern mounted an 8-0 run capped by an old-fashioned three-point play from Schnelle with 2:29 to go. The free-throw gave ONU its first lead since the 8:10 mark.

A jumper from Rausch gave the Cards the edge on the ensuing possession, but two free-throws from OAC leading scorer Kyle Meyer put the Polar Bears back on top by one with 1:39 to play.

Phillips gave Northern a 73-69 lead with 52 seconds remaining, but a Pollock three-pointer with 36 seconds left drew the team back within one.

After two more free throws from Phillips, Otterbein saw a long three from Pollock miss its mark, allowing ONU to grab a 75-72 victory.

Five Cardinals scored in double figures, with Pollock’s 17 leading the way. Rausch recorded 16 points and five rebounds while Ratai had 14 points to go along with six boards.

Sophomore Center Chris Davis scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while sophomore point guard Mark Louks turned in an all-around effort, tallying 11 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals while playing a career-high 37 minutes.

Meyer led Ohio Northern with a game-high 21 points, 13 coming in the second half of play. Polar Bear point guard Ezra Bradshaw scored 19 points, nine of which came from the free-throw line. Schnelle added 13 with a perfect 7-of-7 effort from the charity stripe.

Both teams shot 45% from the field, but Northern made 27-of-35 free throws while the Cardinals converted just 14-of-23 opportunities from the line.

Otterbein hits the road on Saturday to play Ohio Northern. Tip-off from New Concord is set for 3 p.m.