MARIETTA, Ohio – It was a devastating finish for Otterbein after a gutty, admirable road performance Tuesday night in a hostile Ban Johnson Arena… as the Cardinals were forced to swallow an overtime loss against No. 4 seed Marietta College.

The Cardinals, seeded fifth in the six-team bracket, held a lead in the closing seconds of regulation before two late Pioneer free throws forced extra time. Marietta then survived the OT session to emerge 92-83, advancing into Thursday's OAC Tournament semifinal round.

Otterbein unfortunately ends its season with the loss, settling at 14-12 overall following a difficult stretch in February.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• Otterbein came out swinging, building a 21-12 lead approaching the midway point of the first half.
   
• The hosts regrouped with a lopsided 23-7 run, flipping the deficit into a three-possession lead  entering the final minutes of the first half. Otterbein got back within a bucket before Marietta nailed a buzzer-beating trifecta going into the locker room (40-34).
   
• Marietta opened the second half with a quick 7-0 run and eventually bumped the margin all the way to 16 points (52-36).
   
• Otterbein gathered itself and began chipping away, outscoring the hosts 20-10 across the next five-ish minutes to claw back within a single possession. The Cards hung close, tying the game at 71-71 and never actually leading until a layup from Troy Scowden with 1:09 on the clock…
   
• Cam Evans split a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to put the team up 76-74, but a controversial blocking foul (down low) against Otterbein on the defensive end allowed Marietta to sink game-tying free throws.
   
• Evans had a chance to win the game in regulation. He split a pair of defenders and got to the rim, but his layup just barely fell short and wasn't able to fully get over the rim in traffic.
   
• Evans made a layup on the first possession of overtime, but Marietta embarked on a 12-2 run from that point to snatch the game.

BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Dallas Patrick (24) and Evans (23) combined for more than half of Otterbein's team total offensively, with Patrick also corralling a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double.
   
• Julian Heckman added 12 points and five assists.
   
• Otterbein shot 48% in regulation but then just 2 of 10 in the extra frame. Marietta needed to attempt only three shots from the field in overtime.
   
• The game saw a combined 49 fouls and 59 free throws.|
   
• Jac Alexander scored a game-high 26 for Marietta, the defending OAC Tournament champs.