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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team lost a high-scoring contest in the Rike Center to the Wilmington Quakers, 100-84, in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play Wednesday night.

The Cards jumped out to a hot start with six quick points from freshman Justin Carter within the first two minutes. Otterbein was able to maintain a single-digit lead until the 6:55 mark where the Quakers received a deep three from senior Christian Jones.

Otterbein regained the lead with two minutes to go in the first half on two free throws from sophomore Austin Springer, and later took a 48-44 lead into the break thanks to a half-court shot from freshman Gabe Watson at the buzzer.

Wilmington began pushing the pace even more in the second half, which started out with two lead changes and two ties across the first few minutes. The Quakers eventually pulled away in a period littered with foul calls, burying a three-pointer shortly after a timeout with 4:46 remaining and never looking back.

Otterbein struggled down the stretch, where the Cardinals only saw one field goal and four free throws, three of them coming from senior Corey Howard. Wilmington did much of the same from the field, but was able to get to the free-throw line 14 times, making 11 and increasing the final gap.

The Cardinals were led by Carter with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, going 7 of 8 from the foul line, with seven rebounds. Otterbein also received a 12-point contribution from Howard and 10 points from freshman Maurice Beavers.

Otterbein had an edge in the paint with 44 points compared to Wilmington's 28, but a 32-point performance by Jones helped spearhead the visitors.

The Cardinals will head across town on Saturday, playing a rematch with Capital at 2 p.m. The Crusaders took the first showdown earlier this season by a score of 70-59.