Box Score

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Cardinal men's basketball team extended its win streak to five-straight with a thrilling 86-84 overtime win at Mount Union on Saturday afternoon in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest.

Otterbein (7-6 overall, 3-3 OAC) entered the game on a four-game win streak while Mount Union came in having won four of its last five games to catapult itself into second-place in the conference standings.

The Cards' balanced scoring attack helped them open the first half with a 56.5 percent mark from the field, thanks to 11 points from junior Matt Hughes and five points apiece from senior Bryan Mackenzie and freshman Andrew Valeri.

Otterbein jumped out to an early 14-10 lead over the Purple Raiders after converting six of its first nine shots. Junior Corey Howard connected on a three-pointer at the 11:39 mark to give the Cards a 17-13 advantage before the Raiders manufactured a 9-2 scoring run to pull ahead.

Hughes then notched four points over the final six minutes of play, sandwiched between a pair of three-pointers from junior Nick Nossaman and redshirt freshman Cameron Arminio, tying the score at 32 apiece at the break.

The Cardinals began the second half on a 10-4 run to take its largest lead of the game at six points, as Hughes resumed his scoring effort by posting seven points in the first five minutes.

Otterbein held a steady lead until the Raiders cut their deficit to a one-possession game at the 11:04 mark and take their first advantage of the frame at 51-50 a minute later.

Mount Union extended its lead to as many as six points with less than nine minutes left before the Cards clawed their way back in front following six-straight made free throws from Hughes and Howard.

The Cards found themselves down 71-68 with five seconds remaining before Howard buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Otterbein quickly went ahead by six points in the extra period and never looked back, knocking down all 10 foul shots with senior Bryan Mackenzie accounting for eight of them.

Hughes led the team and tied a career-high 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and a 12-of-13 mark from the charity stripe, totaling eight rebounds and two assists.

Mackenzie followed with 19 points on 4-of-5 from the floor, going a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line, with eight rebounds. Nossaman notched 12 points on four three-pointers, while Howard finished with 10 points and tied for a game-high five assists.

The Cards finished shooting an even 50 percent from the field to Mount Union's mark of 42.4 percent, while also holding a 37-29 advantage in rebounding. 

Otterbein returns home next Wednesday for its first of two meetings with John Carroll. Tip-off inside the Rike Center is set for 7 p.m.