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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University men’s basketball fell just short in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play Wednesday evening, suffering a 76-75 loss to visiting Baldwin Wallace University inside the Rike Center.

Otterbein falls to 5-7 overall and 2-3 against OAC schools as a result, while the win moves the Yellow Jackets to 8-4 on the season and 3-2 overall.

The Yellow Jackets came out on fire, making their first five shots from beyond the arc in building a 19-2 advantage after six minutes of play.

Otterbein regrouped and started its climb back, scoring 11 in a row to close the deficit to 19-13. The Cardinals continued their surge, tying the game at 34-34 before BW took a slim 41-39 edge into halftime.

Otterbein took its first lead of the game, 46-44, on a Zach Bakenhaster layup with 14:53 remaining in regulation, and the game was locked tied at 57-57 with under ten minutes to go.

The Cards opened their largest lead of 66-60 with 5:49 showing on the game clock, but Baldwin Wallace battled back and ultimately took a 72-71 lead at the 1:45 mark.

Otterbein freshman Jake Bischoff, seeing his first action of the season since transferring from Division II Concord University (W Va.), gave the team a 75-74 lead after a transition jumper with just 33 seconds to play.

The Cardinal defense came up with a stop on the other end, but a missed free throw on the front end of a one and one kept BW down by a single point.

Baldwin-Wallace junior Kyle Payne made a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to help the visitors regain a one-point lead, and a desperation heave by Otterbein missed the mark as the Jackets escaped with the win.

Sophomore Andy Yazrombek led the Otterbein charge once again with 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Bischoff performed admirably in his debut with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

Senior Zach Bakenhaster turned in a double-double effort with 11 points and 11 caroms, while junior Jon Juergens chipped 10 off the bench.

Payne led all scorers with 23 points for Baldwin Wallace, which made 11 three-pointers in the game.

The Cardinals resume OAC play Saturday afternoon, traveling to rival Capital University as part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader. The men start the action at 2 p.m. while the women are slated to tip around 4 p.m.