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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A high-level battle from a pair of Central Ohio schools separated by just 30 minutes went down to the wire Tuesday night in a lead-up to Thanksgiving, and visiting Denison would ultimately escape the non-conference slugfest after a layup in the closing seconds.
The Big Red received a driving layup from Emmett Burnside with 3.8 seconds on the clock, and avoided a last-second heave on the opposite end to hand the Cardinals (3-1) their first loss of the season in a tense 72-70 final.
Denison, opening its season with a tough stretch against some tough competition, gets to 2-3 this year after recent losses to No. 10 Calvin, No. 13 Case Western and Capital.
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A game of mini runs began with Denison holding leads of 14-7 and 22-14, but Otterbein settled in to only trail 24-23 entering the closing stretch before intermission. The Big Red went up 29-24, the Cards sored five straight to tie, and the visitors punctuated the half on a 7-1 spurt to carry a 42-35 cushion into the break.
Denison ran the gap to double digits, 50-40, early in the second half before Otterbein punched right back with a 14-4 stretch to deadlock the evening (54-54) approaching the midway point of the second. The contest would then remain a two-possession dogfight the rest of the way…
A bucket in the open court by
Cam Evans knotted the score at 60-60 but Denison countered with six n a row. Otterbein scraped back and, after consecutive layups from
Julian Heckman in traffic, trailed just 70-68 with 47 seconds on the clock.
The Cards forced a miss defensively and
Jack Clement secure a rebound before absorbing a loose ball foul. Despite struggling offensively most of the night, he promptly stepped to the line and tie the game (with 17 seconds to go) on a pair of free throws.
Denison advanced the ball and, out of a timeout, saw Burnside create room left and finish a nice drive to the bucket. Clement went rolling the other way but his off-balanced, desperation heave missed the mark.
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Both teams shot nearly identical from the field, with Otterbein going 24 of 52 and Denison finishing at 24 of 54. However, the Cards went just 6 of 20 behind the arc while the Big Red were 12 of 30 from three-point range, equating to an 18-point differential in the category.
A game that saw multiple players on both sides standing 6-foot-7 or taller ended with Otterbein holding a 36-18 scoring edge in the paint. Evans (game-high 18 points),
Julian Heckman (14) and
Troy Scowden (10) all converted at the rim frequently in representing 60 percent of the team's scoring. Scowden was a perfect 5 of 5 shooting.
Clement, having scored 22-plus in each game this year, was held to just four points on 1-of-9 shooting. He did find other way to contribute with a game-high five assists and four rebounds.
Both teams shot under 70 percent at the charity stripe, as the Cards went 16 of 23 and Denison settled 12 of 19. The Big Red grabbed double-digit offensive boards and limited Otterbein to just two second-chance points on the other side.
The game featured a combined 40 fouls whistled over the 40 minutes.
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The Cardinals will look to enjoy Thanksgiving before taking on a fourth NCAC team come Sunday afternoon, traveling to Gambier for a matchup with Kenyon.
