ALLIANCE, OHIO – Led by senior center Chris Davis, the Otterbein University men's basketball team held off a late surge and opened Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with an 82-79 victory over Mount Union Saturday at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

The Cardinals snap a three-game losing skid and move to 2-3 overall, 1-0 in the OAC. Meanwhile, the Purple Raiders fall to 0-1 in the OAC, 3-3 overall.

Davis led the Cardinals with a game-high 29 points on 10-15 shooting and finished with 11 rebounds (seven offensive), his fourth double-double of the season.

Sophomore forward Max Van Meter added 18 points, while freshman guard RaNeal Ewing chipped in 17, including 8-8 from the free throw line. He also had a team-high three assists.

Otterbein entered halftime trailing 29-23. The Cardinals took control in the second half with a 21-4 run, highlighted by four-consecutive three-pointers, to take a 54-42 lead with 9:22 remaining in the game.

Mount Union closed the gap to eight with under two minutes remaining. However, Ewing sank all six of his free-throw attempts to increase the Cardinal lead to 74-62 with 1:38 remaining in the contest.

The Purple Raiders hit three shots from beyond the arc to close out the game, but four Van Meter free-throws in the final minute sealed the win for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals return to action Wednesday, Dec. 7, when they travel to face Ohio Northern. Tip-off from Ada is set for 7:30 p.m.