Box Score
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University men's basketball survived a back-and-forth contest Saturday evening with Muskingum University, out-lasting the visitors 80-75 in the Rike Center for a key conference win.
The Cardinals, improving to 4-13 overall and 3-7 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), now hold the ti-breaker with the Muskies by virtue of winning both regular-season contests. The two teams entered the matchup tied for eighth in the league standings.
Muskingum (7-10, 2-8 OAC) used a pair of early three-pointers from Dave Brown en route to an 18-9 lead, but the Cardinals settled in and used a quick 10-0 run to jump ahead, 19-18, by the 11:00 mark.
Both sides continued to trade scores in what would be a high-scoring, back and forth first half that eventually went to halftime locked at 45-45. The opening 20 minutes saw nine ties and 17 lead changes.
"I told the guys at halftime that we are doing the things to get us in position to win," Otterbein head coach Todd Adrian said. "Guys are beginning to take more ownership and firing each other up. They know it's time to stop looking at me and start looking at each other."
The matchup remained a one-possession battle throughout the opening seven minutes of the second half until another 10-0 Otterbein spurt, capped by a jumper off the glass from Matt Rhodes, put the Cards ahead 64-56 just beyond the midway point of the period.
The Muskies stayed close, eventually closing to within three points (74-71) after a jumper from Clay Owings with 2:07 showing on the second-half clock. An offensive tip-in from Otterbein's Andy Yazrombek on the other end bumped the lead back to two possessions, and two key defensive stops coupled with four made free throws from Jake Phillis helped seal the team's first home win of the season.
Phillis and Rhodes scored 18 and 17, respectively, to lead five Cardinals finishing in double figures. Jake Bischoff added 14 while both Yazrombek and Marshall Crum chipped in 10.
"I think Matt (Rhodes) is comfortable again and has righted some of the adversity he had earlier in the season," Adrian said. "He brings a mental toughness that we sometimes lack. Jake (Phillis) is starting to lead this team and I feel more and more comfortable leaving theball in his hands. He's still a freshman but is continuing to learn and make positive plays."
The Cardinals shot a solid .547 from the field while limiting the Muskies to a .385 output. Otterbein had a 40-24 advantage on points in the paint and a 31-9 edge in bench scoring.
Logan Kimble recorded a game-high 23 points for Muskingum and Brown finished with 19 in the losing effort.
Otterbein will hit the road to begin next week's action, traveling to Marietta College Wednesday evening for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The Pioneers previously earned a 109-72 victory in Westerville back on December 4.
