ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team saw its season come to a close Tuesday night, falling 75-57 at top seed Mount Union in the opening round (quarterfinals) of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Cardinals, competing in the OAC Tournament for the first time in six years, end their campaign at 8-18 overall under first-year head coach Andy Winters. Mount Union, the regular-season champions and ranked No. 7 nationally, runs its winning streak to 15 games and advances to host a semifinal matchup Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Otterbein only 21-13 with 7:56 remaining in the first half, but would unfortunately remain cold on the offensive end as Mount Union added to its lead before the break.
   
• The Cards went scoreless for an entire six minutes, as the Raiders ended the frame on a 15-3 run. That stretch made the halftime score 36-16.
   
• Otterbein did its best to keep pace and chip away after intermission, outscoring Mount 12-9 to begin the second half before the hosts ran their lead back to as many as 25.
   
• The Cardinals never stopped playing, admirably stringing together a late 16-5 run that sliced the deficit to 11 points with 3:03 on the game clock, before running out of team.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Cardinals outscored Mount Union 41-39 in a high-paced second half, shooting 28 percent before intermission and then 37 percent afterward.
   
• Mo Beavers buried five three pointers en route to ultimately leading Otterbein with 23 points. Dallas Patrick, the likely front-runner for OAC Freshman of the Year, scored 10 while adding a game-best nine boards.
   
• D'Vontay Friga turned in a career game for Mount, coming off the bench to score 31 points while no other teammate needed to tally more than 10. As a result, the Raiders finished with a 52-17 edge in bench points.
   
• Mount Union shot an even 50 percent for the game and held a 22-6 advantage on the fast break.

UP NEXT:

Otterbein says goodbye to seniors Nick Koontz and Austin Springer, but will have the opportunity to welcome back its top-six scorers to blend with incoming talent.