WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University men’s basketball came up just short Saturday evening, dropping a 70-63 contest to Heidelberg University inside the Rike Center.

The loss drops Otterbein to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the win elevates the Student Princes to 9-6 on the season and 4-4 against the league.

The two sides went back and forth in a close first half, with no team leading by more than a possession until Heidelberg opened a 27-23 lead with 5:48 to play before halftime.

Heidelberg took a 35-28 advantage into intermission, and bumped its margin to double digits, 44-33, to prompt a Cardinal timeout with 15:26 remaining in regulation.

A layup from junior Jon Juergens brought Otterbein within single digits at the midway point of the half, but the Student Princes held their ground and pushed the lead back to 13, at 57-44, with 8:38 to go.

Otterbein was dealt a blow with 6:19 remaining when junior Max Van Meter fouled out, but the Cards refused to go quietly, trailing just 59-52 after a layup from Zach Bakenhaster with 4:59 showing on the game clock.

A ensuing three-pointer from Jake Bischoff and running floater from Andy Yazrombek erupted the Rike Center crowd, cutting the lead to 59-57 with 2:34 remaining. However, the Berg answered twice in the final minutes with a pair of three points in preserving the win.

Senior Zach Bakenhaster turned in a game-best 18 points to go along with six rebounds, while Van Meter contributed 11 points and seven boards in 19 minutes of action. Jake Bischoff added eight points off the bench.

Dane Givner scored 16 points to lead Heidelberg, which shot .500 from the field compared to Otterbein’s .471. The Cradinals won the rebounding comparison at 36-22, but committed 21 turnovers on the night.

Otterbein hits the road next week for a pair of conference outings, traveling to John Carroll University Wednesday evening and Muskingum University Saturday afternoon.