Box Score

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein University men’s basketball suffered a 76-67 loss at the hands of cross-town rival Capital University Wednesday evening in the Rike Center.

The loss drops Otterbein to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Capital uses the win to move to 6-6 on the season and 3-2 against league opponents.

Capital opened a 14-8 lead early on, but Otterbein bounced back behind two RaNeal Ewing three-pointers en route to a 17-14 advantage.

The Crusaders then went on a 7-0 run of their own, taking a 21-17 lead before Otterbein drew even at 26-26 and again at 28-28.

The Purple and White would take advantage of four Cardinal starters in foul trouble late in the first half, taking a 36-32 edge into halftime.

Otterbein freshman RaNeal Ewing tallied 13 points in just 14 minutes during the first half.

The game remained close in the early portion of the second half, and Capital later took the game’s biggest lead at 61-53 with 7:39 remaining.

Otterbein attempted to pull even down the stretch, but would get no closer than four as the Crusaders held on for the victory.

Senior Chris Davis led the Cardinals with 21 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Ewing finished with 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

Max Van Meter contributed eight points off the bench while Brice Rausch dished out a team-best five assists.

Michael Sommer paced Capital and led all scorers with 22 points, followed by 20 from Spencer Niekamp.

The Crusaders connected on 25 of their 32 free-throw attempts while Otterbein struggled, converting just 14 of 29 (.483) at the line. The Cardinals held a slim 34-32 edge in rebounding.

Otterbein next hosts Muskingum University Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.