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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University came up just short in the quest for its second Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) win of the season Wednesday night, falling 87-82 to visiting Ohio Northern University inside the Rike Center.
The Cardinals, falling to 2-7 overall and 1-3 against conference opponents with the loss, will return to action Dec. 29-30 when they travel to Thousand Oaks, Calif. to play in the California Lutheran University Tournament. Otterbein will open against Hamline University (Minn.) at 8 p.m. local time.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start offensively, but the Cardinals settled in to grab a 19-12 lead by the 9:14 mark after a three-pointer from Jake Bischoff.
Otterbein, playing without forwards Grant Fenner and Marc McCuen, held a six-point lead in the following minute after another trifecta from Bischoff, but the Polar Bears eventually battled back to draw even at 28-28 with 3:37 to play before the break.
Northern opened a five-point advantage moments later before settling for a 37-36 lead entering the locker rooms for halftime.
Ohio Northern used to a 9-3 scoring spurt to seize a 46-39 lead at the beginning of the second half, but Otterbein stayed closed and trailed by just three after Matt Rhodes split a pair of free throws at the 12:38 mark.
The Polar Bears widened the margin to 62-55 after back-to-back makes from beyond the arc, but the Cardinals would continue to keep the contest a one or two possession with the game clock moving under eight minutes.
Otterbein used a layup from Rhodes to take a 69-68 lead, and quickly pushed the advantage to 76-70 with 4:15 remaining after an old-fashioned three-point play from senior Matt McCollister.
The first 39 minutes of action would ultimately allow no separation as the game saw an 81-81 tie entering the 60 second. Otterbein took a temporary 82-81 lead with 49 seconds to play, but ONU point guard Isaiah Roux converted a running jumper on the other end to give his team the lead for good. Otterbein had two possessions to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds, but layups from Bischoff and freshman Jake Phillis would not fall.
The Polar Bears, improving to 4-4 overall and 2-2 within the league as a result of the win, corralled 16 offensive rebounds in the contest while taking 16 more shots than the Cardinals.
Otterbein was led by a new season-high 21 points from Phillis, who shot 7 for 11 throughout the game and helped lead the Cardinal charge down the back stretch. Bischoff scored 18 while Jon Juergens and Rhodes added 11 and 10, respectively.
Ohio Northern got a game and career-high 23 points from Dominique Royal, but it was Roux that ultimately helped the visitors prevail. The Orlando, Fla. native contributed all 13 of his points in the second half, including three timely baskets in the last three minutes.
Otterbein entered the matchup ranked second in the league for fewest turnovers per game (10), but the Polar Bear defense forced 17 over the course of the night. The Cardinals held ONU to a 3 of 15 effort from long range, but the visitors converted 20 of 25 free throws.
