Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – The Otterbein men's hoops team suffered a pair of defeats over the weekend at the two-day Thomas More Classic, falling on Friday to host Thomas More before being downed by nationally-ranked Hanover on Saturday.

The Cardinals (0-3 overall) turn their attention to competition in next week's NCAC/OAC Challenge, beginning Tuesday night with a matchup against Ohio Wesleyan at Wittenberg University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Springfield, Ohio.

Otterbein will then host Wittenberg in its home opener next Sunday at 4 p.m., with admission free of charge with donation of a canned-good item or cash to benefit The Promise House.

Thomas More took a 13-point advantage into halftime in game one Friday night despite Otterbein battling back-and-forth in the scoring column through the first 11 minutes.

TMC held an early 7-2 lead before Otterbein went on a 9-4 scoring run to knot the score at 11 apiece at the 15:38 mark. The Cards never did gain a lead in the contest, but did manage to pull within one point at 14-13 following a jumper by sophomore Austin Springer around the 14-minute mark.

Otterbein trailed 27-21 with less than 10 minutes until halftime before TMC manufactured a 20-13 scoring run to end the frame. The Saints shot 56 percent in the first half to the Cards' mark of 43 percent.

The Cards played the Saints much tighter in the second half and actually finished owning a 35-33 advantage in points in the period, trimming their deficit to seven points with 1:19 remaining but to no avail.

Freshman Eddie Anders finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, connecting on four three-pointers. Fellow freshmen Justin Carter and Gabe Watson also reached double-figures, combining for 23 points.

Game two for the Cards featured a rousing effort on the offensive end for the majority of the game, as Otterbein held a 41-29 lead at halftime over fourth-ranked Hanover.

Otterbein shot an astounding 63 percent in the frame while holding Hanover to just 34 percent shooting, as Springer notched 12 points at the break.

The Cards struggled to score in the second half as the Panthers ended up owning a 42-27 advantage in the score column, overcoming a 15-point deficit to take the lead with 2:21 left to play.

A layup by Springer with 10 seconds remaining cut the Cards' deficit to 70-68 in the closing seconds, but Hanover made 1-of-2 foul shots the following possession to help pad its lead.

Springer and Carter combined for 40 of the Cards' points with 20 apiece, while Carter led the team with six boards. Anders was next in line with eight points off the bench, while fellow freshmen Troy Schalitz and Maurice Beavers totaled six points each in a reserve role.