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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University men's basketball team fell just short in its 2013-14 home finale inside the Rike Center Saturday evening, dropping a hard-fought 84-82 overtime game with Heidelberg University.
Despite the loss, Otterbein still manages to clinch the eighth and final seed in next week's Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament due to tiebreaker scenarios with Heidelberg and Muskingum University. The Cards will open the quarterfinal round at No. 5 seed John Carroll University Monday evening at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start in the first half, with neither side building a lead of more than four points over the opening 17 minutes. Otterbein found a slight groove just before halftime to ultimately take a 37-32 advantage into the break.
Heidelberg (7-18, 3-15 OAC) drew even early in the second half, first at 41-41 and again at 44-44, before an 11-0 run behind the hot shooting of freshman Matt Rhodes lifted Otterbein to a double-digit lead.
The Student Princes began to slowly work their way back, chipping away and eventually going on a late 11-0 run to take a 73-71 lead with 39 seconds remaining on a layup from leading-scorer Deonte Holder.
Senior point guard Jason Davis, playing in his final home game, had an answer with a driving layup on the other end to tie the game. The Cardinals would hold strong defensively on the final possession to force overtime.
The contest was locked at 77-77 midway through the extra session, and a Marc McCuen pick-and-pop three-pointer helped Otterbein tie the game again, this time at 82-82, with 34 seconds to go.
Heidelberg missed its initial shot to take the lead on the final possession, but an offensive rebound and put-back from Jackson Blue proved to be the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining. Davis broke free down the court for the Cardinals on a final desperation heave from Rhodes, but his fall-a-way baseline jumper just missed the mark.
Rhodes marked the only Cardinal to score in double figures, going for a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds on an 8-of-13 shooting performance. McCuen and senior Jon Juergens each scored nine points for head coach Todd Adrian, who used a variety of players and lineups throughout the contest.
Holder and Keith Mackie each posted 18 points to lead Heidelberg, which overcame a 4 of 21 three-point performance by going 24 of 27 at the free-throw line. The Student Princes also out-rebounded the Cardinals 39-22, including 16 offensive boards.
The Cards will be looking for a repeat outcome of last year's OAC Tournament quarterfinal outing at John Carroll, where they came up with an 82-76 upset to end the Blue Streaks season. JCU took both regular-season matchups with Otterbein this year.
