Ohio Wesleyan Box Score
SUNY-Cobleskill Box Score
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Otterbein University men’s basketball moved to 2-2 on the season over the weekend, splitting a pair of outings at the University of Rochester Holiday Inn Airport Tournament.
The Cardinals suffered a close 66-59 defeat to No. 22-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University in the opener Saturday evening, but rebounded with a 94-75 win over SUNY-Cobleskill Sunday afternoon in the consolation game.
Day 1 vs. Ohio Wesleyan
Otterbein opened a six-point lead with 9:18 to play in the first half, but the Battling Bishops outscored the Cards 16-7 over the following eight minutes to take a 30-27 lead.
A late tip-in from Jon Juergens brought Otterbein to within 32-31 at the break, but OWU went on an 11-0 run over the first two minutes of the second stanza en route to a 43-31 advantage.
Otterbein responded with a 14-5 run of its own over the next three minutes, cutting the deficit to 48-45 with 15:11 to play. The spurt included back-to-back triples from C.J. Julian and another three-pointer from Matt McCollister.
The game encountered a bit of a scoring draught as the second half progressed, but the Cards trailed just 54-50 after another trifecta, this time from Juergens, with 7:50 remaining on the game clock.
The Bishops slowly began to widen their margin, taking a 60-51 lead with as the clocked ticked under five minutes. Otterbein was never able to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Junior Max Van Meter tallied team-highs of 15 points and seven rebounds to pace the Cardinals, while Julian pitched in nine points and six boards. OWU was led by a game-high 21 points from Reuel Rogers.
Otterbein made nine three-pointers on the night, but Ohio Wesleyan dominated inside with a 38-14 edge for points in the paint. The Bishops also finished with a 13-0 advantage in fast-break points.
Day 2 vs. SUNY-Cobleskill
The matchup was tied at 10-10 early on, but the Cardinals sprinted out on a quick 14-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Colin Echelberry, to seize a 24-10 advantage.
Otterbein went into the intermission holding a 44-31 lead, but led just 44-37 a minute into the second half.
The Cards regrouped with a 13-3 run, opening a 57-40 margin before later going up 72-49 after consecutive layups from senior Kiley Gessner.
SUNY-Cobleskill would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way as Otterbein claimed victory.
Senior Zach Bakenhaster turned in an all-around performance of 24 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. He converted 6 of 7 from the free-throw line, and was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
Van Meter also registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, while sophomore Andy Yazrombek tallied a career-high 13 points to go along with four assists.
Will Davis led the SUNY-Cobleskill scoring with 14 points.
Otterbein shot .500 (31 of 62) from the field compared to SUNY’s .359 percentage. The Cards made 25 of 34 free-throws as a team and limited the Fighting Tigers to just a 5 of 20 effort from beyond the arc.
Otterbein opens Ohio Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon, traveling to Marietta College for a 3 p.m. tip.
