Box Score
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Otterbein University men's basketball team battled down the stretch but ultimately fell short in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action Wednesday evening, suffering an 85-67 defeat at Wilmington College.

The Cardinals fell behind early, allowing the host Quakers (9-4, 6-1 OAC) to bury 12 of their first 14 shot attempts, including five three-pointers, and seize a 32-9 lead by the 11:10 mark.

Otterbein (2-12, 1-6 OAC) brought the deficit down to 17 temporarily before Wilmington built the lead to 48-26 entering halftime.

The Cardinals continued to fight as the second-half got underway, cutting the 22-point deficit down to 13, at 59-46, after a layup from junior Marshall Crum with 12:12 to play.

However, a dunk from Wilmington's Malcolm Heard II on the ensuing possession brought life back to the Quakers, helping the hosts eventually bump their cushion back to 18 points as the game entered the final eight minutes.

Otterbein refused to go away quietly, getting to within 12 on two separate occasions and then bringing the gap to 10 with 2:13 to go after a jumper from freshman Jake Phillis. The Cards would unfortunately not get any closer the rest of the way as Wilmington preserved the win.

R.J. Leppert scored a game-high 18 points to lead five Quakers in double figures. Heard had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Klarke Ransome scored 13.

Junior guard Andy Yazrombek led Otterbein in scoring with a season-high 15 points, going 6 of 9 from the field in 28 minutes of action. Jake Bischoff had 14 while Phillis and fellow freshman Chase Moyer had 12 and 10, respectively.

Otterbein shot 46.4 percent from the field throughout but allowed the Quakers to finish at 52.6 percentage on their offensive end. Wilmington held a slight 36-30 edge on the glass but the Cardinals posted a 38-34 scoring advantage in the paint.

Otterbein stays on the road to finish out the week, traveling to Tiffin Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. matchup with Heidelberg University.