Box Score

WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Cardinal men’s basketball team suffered a last-minute 50-47 defeat at the hands of Wilmington College Wednesday night.

The loss drops Otterbein University to 4-11 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, 7-15 overall. The Quakers, meanwhile, improve to 11-11 overall, 8-7 in league play.

The Cardinals, up by one, extended their lead to 47-44 with 4:12 left in the game when freshman Jake Bischoff knocked down a jump shot.

Wilmington cut into the lead on a layup by senior Brandon Candella with 3:38 left and evened it up when Candella split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 47-47 with 2:01 remaining in the game.

The score remained tied when a Quaker layup rimmed out and was rebounded by the Cardinals with 18 seconds left to play.

On Otterbein’s possession, Wilmington forced a turnover which directly led to a layup-and-one by Candella to put the Quakers up 50-47 with five seconds left.

Following a timeout and a quick foul by Wilmington, junior Max Van Meter’s desperation three-point attempt came up short, giving the Quakers the victory.

Van Meter led the Cardinals with 22 points, while Bischoff chipped in 10 in the loss.

The two squads entered the halftime break evened up at 23 and were tied at 35 with 12:34 remaining in the game before Otterbein created some separation. The Cardinals went on a 10-1 run to give them a 45-36 lead with 9:02 left in the contest.

However, it was the Quakers who closed out the final nine minutes of the game on a 14-2 run to claim the win.

Junior Malcolm Heard II registered a double-double, 15 points and 15 boards, to lead Wilmington.

Otterbein returns to action this Saturday night when they host crosstown rival Capital University. The game will be the second of a Cardinal-Crusader doubleheader, with the women set to tip off at 5 p.m. and the men to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.