Adrian Box Score
Carnegie Mellon Box Score
WOOSTER, Ohio – The Otterbein University men’s basketball team opened its season with a split at the College of Wooster Rotary Classic, falling 61-49 to Adrian College Friday evening before defeating Carnegie Mellon University 75-58 on Saturday.
Day 1 vs. Adrian
The game featured a few close lead changes throughout the first half, with Otterbein eventually taking a slim 25-23 edge into the break.
Otterbein senior Zach Bakenhaster split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38-38, but Adrian rattled off the next seven points to open a 45-38 advantage with 10:14 left to play.
The Cardinals stayed close, trailing 47-44 before the Bulldogs used a quick 7-0 spurt to widen its lead to 54-44 and later secure the win.
Junior Colin Echelberry led Otterbein with a career-high 10 points, marking the only Cardinal in double figures. Max Van Meter nearly missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
Otterbein shot .389 compared to .353 for Adrian, but the Cardinals committed twice as many turnovers, 18 to 9, in allowing the Bulldogs to hold a 23-4 edge in points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs also sank 12 of 16 free throws while Otterbein got to the line six times, making two.
Day 2 vs. Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon vaulted to an early 13-4 lead, but Otterbein flew back by scoring 17 of the next 20 points en route to a 23-16 advantage. The Cardinals would later take a 29-25 advantage into halftime.
Otterbein carried the momentum over, opening the second half on a 14-4 run to open a 43-29 edge with 15:45 showing on the game clock.
A Carnegie Mellon three-pointer with 7:36 remaining brought the Tartans within single digits, but the Cardinals would prove too strong en route to victory.
Bakenhaster led the way with a double-double effort of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Colin Echelberry shot 5 of 6 from the field to post a new career-best of 12 points and receive All-Tournament team honors.
Junior Jon Juergens contributed 11 points and senior guard Tommy Waterwash finished with 10.
Otterbein shot an impressive .570 from the field as a team, holding CMU to just .380 in the process. The Cards held a 35-24 rebounding edge and sank 15 of 21 from the charity stripe.
Carnegie Mellon was led by Andre Moore's game-best 22 points.
Otterbein returns to action next weekend, traveling to play in the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Holiday Inn Tournament.
