ALLIANCE, Ohio- Otterbein Men's Basketball hit the road again on Saturday, this time traveling to Mount Union to face off with their third ranked opponent of the season. The Cardinals took an early lead and stayed close through the first half, but multiple Purple Raider scoring runs led to an eventual 74-59 final in favor of the hosts.

The Cardinals now sit at 10-4 overall and 4-3 inside the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the 14th-ranked Purple Raiders improve to 11-2 and 5-2 in OAC action.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Cardinals started strong by jumping out to an early 7-1 lead thanks to five quick points from Justin Carter.
   
• Mount then used the next 1:17 to go on an 8-0 run that included back-to-back triples just 20 seconds apart.
   
• The two sides then exchanged leads four times throughout the rest of the half.
   
• The hosts took a 27-25 lead with 3:56 to play and went on to hold the Cardinals to just one point (a Bryson Lane free-throw) for the remainder of the half.
   
• Mount Union held a 35-26 lead at the break after a 19-5 run to close the half.
   
• The Cardinals cut the lead down to four early in the second half, but the Raiders quickly built the lead back up to 13.
   
• From there, Mount showed why they've climbed up to the #14 spot in the national poll, pulling away for the eventual 74-59 win.
   

THE STATS:

• Cam Evans paced the Cardinal's offense coming off the bench to score 21 points in 18 minutes; he was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
   
• Mount Union committed 15 turnovers, but the Cardinals only recorded 10-points on the giveaways.
   
• The Otterbein bench outscored the host's bench, 35-7, but four of five starters for Mount scored in double figures.
   

UP NEXT:

The Cardinals return home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off with Wilmington.