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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinals were forced to try and overcome a slow start Saturday evening against Heidelberg in the Rike Center, and nearly did so midway through the second half before eventually running out of steam.

Heidelberg fought off an Otterbein rally to strike a run of its own late, creating enough room for a 74-62 victory in OAC play. The Student Princes shrug off a pair of recent losses and improve to 10-3 overall, 5-1 against the league.

The Cardinals are still searching for their first victory in the new calendar year after a recent overtime loss to Ohio Northern, dropping to a current 9-4 record on the season.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• Otterbein did not score for the first seven minutes of the game, missing its first 11 shots as Heidelberg built a marginal 9-0 lead over the span.
   
• The Cardinals finally hit the board yet still trailed 20-8 with roughly seven minutes left before the break. Otterbein closed within seven moments later before settling for a 34-23 deficit at intermission.
   
• After regrouping during halftime, the Cards kicked into gear with an energized 19-9 run coming out of the locker and got within a single point (43-42) within eight minutes of game time…
   
• Heidelberg admirably regrouped despite the home crowd coming to life, roaring back with a 20-4 stretch of its own to effectively put the game away.
   
• Otterbein managed to slice the visitor lead in half, and back down to single digits, with about 90 seconds remaining but ran out of time.

 
BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Otterbein shot 45% in the second half compared to that 21% clip before the midway point. Alex Hannah was an efficient 5 of 9 from the field en route to 13 points.
   
• Cam Evans, the OAC's leading scorer, managed to rest with 16 points after a tough night shooting the ball.
   
• Heidelberg finished with a lopsided 40-14 scoring edge in the paint, converting a slew of layups and also posting a 45-28 rebounding margin.
   
• Three Student Princes reached double figures comfortably. Emmanuel Perdue (18) and Isaiah Young (17) led the way while Jashun Cobb was a perfect 7 for 7 inside the arc.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Cardinals will need to refocus quickly with a challenging stretch next week, taking on a pair of nationally-ranked teams in John Carroll and Mount Union.