Box Score

BEXLEY, OHIO – The Otterbein University men’s basketball team came up short at cross-town rival Capital University Wednesday evening, falling 86-75 in overtime.

The loss drops Otterbein to 7-15 overall and 4-11 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the win keeps the Crusaders (15-7,12-3 OAC) in first-place atop the league standings.

Capital went on top 34-33 early in the second half for its first lead of the contest, and the Purple and White later widened its margin to nine, at 54-45, with 9:13 to play in regulation.

The Cardinals refused to go away quietly, battling back to trail just 56-52 after a trifecta from Jason Davis with 6:12 showing on the game clock.

Capital held a 64-58 lead with 2:32 to go, but a 7-0 spurt by the Cardinals put them on top for the first time since the 16:06 mark of the second half.

The Crusaders briefly regained the lead at 66-65, but Otterbein center Chris Davis split a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left and the Cardinal defense held its ground to force overtime.

Capital scored the first seven points of regulation and never looked back en route to the victory.

Sophomore Max Van Meter led Otterbein with 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting, while Chris Davis posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-best 14 rebounds.

Davis, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, has now amassed 1,000 in his three-year stint with Otterbein since transferring before his sophomore season. He scored 44 points as a freshman for Rio Grande University.

Tommy Waterwash posted 11 points off the bench for the Cardinals, who shot .459 for the contest and outrebounded Capital 39-29.

Otterbein made 6 of 20 three-pointers while the Crusaders made 7 of 16 from behind the arc in addition to its 25 of 32 free throw output. The Cards were 13 of 20 from the line.

Otterbein scored the first eight points of the game, and kept the hot start going by pushing the lead to 17-4 by the 11:55 mark.

The Cards held a 29-14 advantage with under six minutes to play in the first half, but the host Crusaders chipped away at the lead with a 14-2 run to end the first half and trailed 31-28 at the break.

The Cardinals remain on the road to finish out the week, traveling to Muskingum University for a 3 p.m. tip Saturday afternoon. The Muskies defeated Otterbein 67-66 in overtime earlier this season.