PHOTO GALLERY
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A frigid shooting night in the Rike Center doomed the Cardinal men's basketball team against No. 12-ranked Marietta, as Otterbein struggled from long range en route to a 76-54 setback in conference play.
The Cardinals, now 6-12 overall and 3-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, will need to regroup quickly as a rematch with cross-town rival Capital awaits Saturday evening in Bexley.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Otterbein began the game rather strong, using a 12-5 run midway through the first half to grab a 20-16 lead.
- The Cardinals then scored just two points over the remaining 9:41 of the period, allowing Marietta to complete the frame on an 18-2 spurt. That stretch resulted in a 34-22 lead at intermission for the visitors.
- Otterbein did its best to hang around in the second half, fighting to trail by only eight (44-36) with the game clock showing 12:30. Marietta regrouped quickly to deliver a 9-0 run spanning the next two minutes.
- The Cards trimmed that deficit down to 12 on a few occasions moving forward, but the climb back would be too steep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Otterbein shot 1 of 23 from three-point range and just 34 percent from the entire field throughout. Marietta was only 6 of 22 from long distance, but did shot 46 percent collectively in the contest.
- The Pioneers took advantage of the charity stripe, going 22 of 27 on free throws compared to a 13 of 18 clip on the Cardinal side. There were 43 total fouls whistled in the game.
- Lukas Isaly and Tim Kreeger both scored a game-high 16 points to lead Marietta, which improved to 16-2 on the year and a solid 10-1 against the league.
UP NEXT:
Otterbein will be looking to get even with Capital after dropping a 64-58 defensive slugfest with the Crusaders earlier this season in Westerville. Game time come Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
