Box Score
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Cardinal men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night following an 82-58 loss to John Carroll inside the Rike Center.
Otterbein (7-7 overall) move to 3-4 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play and will turn to the road for its next two games with a trip to Baldwin Wallace Saturday afternoon up first. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Berea, Ohio.
The Cardinals battled the Blue Streaks tough through the first 10 minutes of action, playing to a 18-point tie with 9:28 remaining in the opening half. John Carroll then took control of the momentum and began to settle in to a fast-paced tempo which fueled a 13-1 scoring run over the next four minutes.
Otterbein managed to briefly halt the JCU run thanks to four-straight made free throws split between forward
Bryan Mackenzie and guard
Austin Springer, cutting the Cards' deficit to eight points.
The Cardinals struggled to find the bottom of the net for the remainder of the frame, totaling one made field goal while being outscored 15-2 over the final four minutes. Springer and Mackenzie combined for 15 of the team's points in the first half, as the Cards surrendered a 53.1 percent mark from the floor to the Blue Streaks.
JCU opened the second half with a 21-point advantage and quickly extended it to 24 points following a three-pointer on the Streaks' first possession by guard David Linane Jr. Otterbein found itself down 51-27 just over two minutes into the second half before manufacturing a spirited 16-2 run to pull to within 10 points of JCU.
The Blue Streaks responded with a strong 19-2 run of their own, forcing the Cardinals to miss 10 of its 11 shots while turning the ball over twice in a span of just over six minutes. JCU cruised the rest of the way, leading by as many as 26 points, before notching its fifth-straight win and sixth in its last seven games.
Springer finished leading the Cards with a career-high 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the foul line. Mackenzie followed with 13 points with four rebounds, making it five-straight games in which he has reached double-digits in scoring.
JCU posted a balanced scoring effort as four players reached double-figures, led by Linane's game-high 16 points for a Blue Streak team that finished shooting 53.2 percent from the field. The Blue Streaks also capitalized off a 25-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
