Box Score BEXLEY, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team came up short across town Saturday afternoon, dropping a 76-59 game in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at nearby Capital University.
The Cardinals, falling to 4-19 on the year and 2-14 within OAC play, will finish out the regular-season next week with a pair of home games against nationally-ranked Marietta College, on Wednesday, and then vs. Heidelberg University come Saturday afternoon.
Capital, meanwhile, elevates itself to 12-11 overall and an even 8-8 against the rest of the conference.
Otterbein trailed 8-7 after a layup from sophomore
Matt Hughes at the 14:44 mark, but the Crusaders then went on a 14-3 run to open a 12-point advantage over midway through the first half.
Capital widened its lead to as many as 18 with 2:32 to play before halftime before the Cards strung together six-straight points to make the deficit 37-25 at the break.
Otterbein then trailed by only nine, 43-34, after a layup from senior
Marc McCuen with 14:56 to play in the game, but the hosts rallied with a quick 10-2 run spanning the next three-plus minutes to run the margin up to 17. The Cards would never recover from that point as Capital ultimately emerged with the win.
More important than the game was a scary moment about midway through the second half, when Hughes was fouled and then landed awkwardly under the basket. He was stretchered off, but was moving during transport and is not believed to have endured anything serious.
Jake Phillis paced the Cardinals with 18 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and making all but one three-point attempt. Hughes added 10 for an Otterbein group that went just 4 of 17 from long range.
Mark Minch paced the Crusaders with a game-high 23 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. Capital committed just six turnovers in the contest.
