UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Otterbein men's basketball team reached the midway point of its Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season schedule on the road Wednesday night, traveling north for a tough matchup at No. 3-ranked and league unbeaten John Carroll.

The Cardinals exchanged blows with the national power across a tight first half, trailing by just six at the break, until the hosts caught steam in the second frame to pull away for an 89-69 final score.

Otterbein now stands 10-6 overall this season and will look to begin the second portion of its OAC slate on the right now Saturday evening, hosting rival Capital in the Rike Center at 7 p.m.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• The game was tied (14-14) early before a quick 8-0 run by JCU created a little separation.
   
• Otterbein worked back nicely with an 11-3 push of its own to deadlock the score once again, this time at 25-25.
   
• The Cards trailed by just four on a pair of occasions before a dunk from Will Yontek gave John Carroll a 44-38 lead at intermission.
   
• Otterbein unfortunately went scoreless for almost four minutes to begin the second half, allowing JCU to begin the second period on 14-0 run and never look back.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Four Cardinals scored in double figures via Julian Heckman (14), Chase Garito (11), Troy Scowden (11) and Brock Waits (10). Leading scorer Jack Clement missed his second game in a row while Cam Evans only attempted one shot in 23 minutes.
   
• Otterbein did shoot 50% even from the field, but JCU countered that with a 54% clip of its own.
   
• Both sides attempted 23 free throws on the night, as the Cards went a very efficient 20 of 23 while John Carroll made 16.
   
• All-American candidate Luke Chicone led JCU with 24 points while running mate Luke Frazier had another 20.
   
• Otterbein committed 20 turnovers on the night compared to just six giveaways for the home side.

 
RIVALRY WEEKEND:

• The Cardinals will play the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's team, which starts the action at 5 p.m. The men will then tip approximately 30 minutes after.