WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The Otterbein men's basketball team squared off against Denison in a non-conference battle Wednesday night inside the Rike Center, emerging 76-65 while paced by an all-around effort from sophomore Jay Joseph.

Joseph contributed game-highs of 24 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists toward the team effort, helping improve the Cardinals to 2-4 overall on the young season. Meanwhile, Denison drops to 1-3.

Both teams struggled from the field early as the game was tied, 7-7, by the 12:54 mark. The scoring began to pick up around the halfway point as Otterbein gained control of the lead, using an 18-8 run that spanned roughly seven minutes to open a 12-point gap.

The Cards eventually settled for a 37-29 lead at halftime behind Joseph, who tallied 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Otterbein also went into the break with a 22-12 rebounding edge.

The Cards came out of the locker room on fire, outscoring the Big Red 20-8 across the first seven-plus minutes en route to building its biggest lead of the game, 59-37, with 12:32 on the clock. Denison didn't go quietly, stringing together a pair of separate 8-0 runs down the stretch that sliced the deficit to single digits.

The visitors trailed just 68-60 with 2:24 left, but the Cards regrouped out of a timeout behind two key plays from Kobe Long-Weber. The sophomore guard helped regain the momentum, stopping the Denison spurt  on a layup to give Otterbein a 70-60 lead, and then making a great hustle play by grabbing an important rebound on the opposite end. He promptly called timeout for the team to retain possession.

The Cards were able to seal the deal in the closing minutes, benefiting from a nice second half by sophomore Maurice Beavers. He connected on a pair of early three-pointers after intermission and ultimately registered 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Otterbein continued its solid shooting from the first half by finishing the game at 54 percent, compared to Denison's 44-percent output. The Big Red were paced by Fred Brou's 15 points while Matt Gerics added 12.

Both sides dropped an identical 44 points in the paint during a game that saw just one lead change. Otterbein hit 6 of 13 from behind the arc while Denison wasn't as fortunate, connecting on just 6 of 29.

The Cards will finish out their week when they travel to rival Capital come Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.