Box Score
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Otterbein University men's basketball team saw its season come to an end Monday evening on the road, falling 95-74 to John Carroll University in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.
The Cardinals, seeded eighth, finish their schedule at 4-22 while the Blue Streaks, possessing the No. 5 seed in the bracket, improve to 16-10 and advance to play at fourth-seeded Ohio Northern University Tuesday evening.
Otterbein handled John Carroll's full-court pressure to begin the game, ultimately opening a slim 21-18 lead by the 11:32 mark after a made jumper from freshman Matt Rhodes.
The Blue Streaks responded with a 13-3 run spanning the next four minutes, taking a 31-24 advantage as the first-half clocked moved under 7:00.
Otterbein stayed close leading into halftime behind the hot shooting of sophomore Jake Bischoff, who connected on 5-of-6 three-pointers en route to 17 first-half points. JCU eventually took a 41-33 edge into the break.
The Cardinals quickly got back within four points to begin the second half, using a trifecta from freshman Jake Phillis and a layup from senior Jon Juergens in the first minute of the frame to make the score 42-38. JCU countered with a 16-4 scoring spurt over the next four-plus minutes, ballooning its lead to 58-42 and force Otterbein to start playing catch-up.
Otterbein remained sharp from downtown, cutting the lead back down to nine as the contest reached the midway point of the second half. John Carroll continued to answer the call, however, responding with a bucket nearly every time the Cardinals threatened to inch closer.
Bischoff turned in his best offensive performances of the season, burying seven three-pointers en route to a game and new career-high 27 points. His other 27-point outing came last season at John Carroll in the same first-round game, an 82-76 Cardinal victory.
Phillis scored 16 while Rhodes added 15 off the bench for Otterbein, which saw John Carroll post a 42-14 edge on points in the paint.
Simon Kucharewicz poured in 20 off the bench for the host Blue Streaks, who were successful driving to the basket all night en route to shooting nearly 56 percent from the field.
Otterbein went 25 of 62 from the floor (.403), with over half of the shots coming from behind the arc. The team set a new school single-game record for most three-pointers attempted (36) and finished one shy of tying the mark for most made in one contest (15).
