Box Score
BEXLEY, Ohio – The Cardinal men's basketball team came up on the low side of a rivalry showdown Saturday afternoon on the road, falling 85-74 at cross-town Capital in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) affair.

Otterbein started strong and led almost the entire first half, opening a 22-14 lead by the midway point following a three-pointer from Matt Hughes and then Maurice Beavers splitting a pair from the charity stripe.

The Cards extended that margin to 12 just a few minutes later, finding themselves up 34-22 (their largest of the game), after Hughes converted a layup with 6:42 remaining before halftime.

The Crusaders kicked into gear from that point, closing the period on an 18-5 run to grab a one-point edge, 40-39, entering halftime. Capital leading scorer Joey Weingartner buried a three-pointer to beat the buzzer.

Otterbein hung close to begin the second half, trailing 50-46 after five minutes before the hosts went on 14-2 run that proved to be a difference-making stretch in the contest. The Cards battled and never went away, trimming the gap down to only seven, 73-66, with 3:38 to go before ultimately running of steam.

Corey Howard (14), Justin Carter (13) and Austin Springer (11) all scored in double figures to pace the Cards, who also got nine from Nick Koontz and eight from Hunter Dennison. Koontz also had a career-high five steals and Otterbein shot 44 percent as a team.

Weingartner dropped 22 for the home team, which connected on 53 percent overall from the field and a solid 9 of 16 behind the arc. Capital held a 37-30 rebounding edge while both teams had 11 second-chance points.

Otterbein (0-17, 0-10 OAC) will be back in action this coming Wednesday, heading to take on nationally-ranked Marietta inside the Ban Johnson Arena at 7 p.m.