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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University men's basketball suffered a disappointing home loss Wednesday evening, watching visiting Wilmington College overcome a 10-point halftime deficit to earn a 69-63 win in the Rike Center.

Wilmington, coming off a 100-point game against Muskingum University over the weekend, struggled from the floor throughout the first half and scored just 16 points over the first 16 minutes of play. Otterbein opened a double-digit lead in the opening period by using a 13-4 run in which it scored on five-straight possessions.

A Quaker three-pointer beat the halftime buzzer, but Otterbein scored first after intermission and continued applying solid defense, holding Wilmington scoreless for another three minutes to begin the second frame.

Wilmington eventually found an offensive stride, using a 16-5 scoring run to close within a point, 40-39, by the midway point of the second half. Otterbein pushed the lead back to a two-possession game at 46-42, but the Quakers rattled off six-straight points to take their first lead of the game and ultimately erupt with a 20-6 run down the stretch.

"We needed to put them away in the first half and just weren't able to do that," Otterbein head coach Todd Adrian said. "I thought we were playing really good basketball and then just didn't have enough passion to finish the job in the second half. I'm extremely disappointed with this result and apologize to all of the Otterbein faithful."

Sophomores Jake Phillis and Grant Fenner led the Otterbein offense throughout, finishing with 17 and 15 points, respectively despite the loss. Matt Hughes also finished with 15 while Marc McCuen had 10.

Jonathan Bibbs and Dwight Johnson each scored 15 points to lead Wilmington, which shot just 39 percent for the game but committed only five turnovers. Otterbein gave the ball away 15 times, allowing the Quakers to finish with a 14-0 edge in points off turnovers.

"I think we need to have a little more discipline," Adrian added. "We had too many guys being loose with the ball out there and committing turnovers. Regardless of the defensive pressure, we need to be strong, take care of the ball and fight through it. There are no more excuses regarding injuries or lack of experience, we just have to get better."

Otterbein will finish out the week on the road, traveling to the University of Mount Union Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. start. The Raiders took the first meeting between the schools this year, winning 94-73 in Westerville.