Box Score

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team lost a tough season finale in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play against Mount Union, 86-77.

The Cards started the last game of the season off to a slow start with the first basket coming from freshman Justin Carter at the 17:22 mark. From there both teams exchanged shots which ultimately led to three-pointer from senior Nick Nossaman half way through the first half to give the Cardinals a five-point lead.

Otterbein hit a drought with eight minutes left where they saw an eight-point lead diminish to a two-point game. With 31 seconds left, the Cards received a layup from freshman Gabe Watson to a take a four-point advantage into halftime.

The Cardinals were able to shoot 17-of-31 (51.5%) which saw neither team reach the foul bonus. Otterbein outscored Mount Union in the paint with 14 points.

Otterbein came out of the locker room ready to go as it received two quick buckets from senior Matt Hughes. From there, Mount Union's three-point shooting took over. The Purple Raiders' Nathan Bower Malone made back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to give Mount Union a one-point lead. Over the next five minutes of play, Mount Union outscored Otterbein 22-13.

Nossaman made a three-pointer to make it a 59-52 game with 11:45 left before the Cards hit another cold streak. Otterbein hit just one shot over the next six minutes and saw the Purple Raiders extend their lead to 16. The Cards still had fight in them while they decreased a 19-point deficit to seven, but Mount Union's barrage of threes were too much for the Cardinals to overcome.

Otterbein was able to get a contribution from all four seniors with Corey Howard leading the way with a career-high 33 points and Matt Hughes adding 17 points of his own. The Cards were able to outscore Mount Union in the paint while shooting 29-of-58 from the field (50%).

Mount Union was led by JJ Kukura with 29 points and also received 28 from Bower Malone.