Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal men's basketball team dropped a non-conference outing Wednesday evening in the Rike Center, enduring a 70-46 loss at the hands of visiting Wittenberg University.

Otterbein University, now 1-3 on the season, will have the weekend off before returning to action next Wednesday at Ohio Northern University. It will be the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener for both teams.

The Cardinals suffered their second-straight low-scoring half of basketball in the opening 20 minutes against Wittenberg, posting just 11 points and shooting 4 of 28 from the field. Otterbein managed just 12 points in the second half against DePauw University in its previous game.

Wittenberg opened the game on a 17-0 run, held a 28-11 lead entering halftime and managed to widen that margin early in the second half en route to its first win of the season. The Tigers (1-4) were finishing up a five-game road stretch to start their season.

Sophomore Bryan Mackenzie just missed a double-double for the Cardinals, scoring a team-high nine points and grabbing a game-best 11 rebounds. Junior Marc McCuen had eight points and six boards off the bench.

Otterbein shot just 12 of 51 (.235) for the game in comparison to Wittenberg's 24 of 61 (.393) mark on the offensive end. The Tigers held a 19-6 edge in points off turnovers and 22-10 advantage for points in the paint. The Cardinals entered the matchup having outscored their first three opponents 110-56 in the painted area.

Otterbein will stay on the road after its OAC opener against Ohio Northern, traveling to Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, Dec. 6 for a 3 p.m. start.