PHOTO GALLERY (coming soon)

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – There was never a doubt. Otterbein exacted sweet revenge against its cross-town rival Capital by a score of 75-58 Saturday night in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Rike Center, as more than 2,000 fans packed the arena to watch the nearby foes do battle.

The Cardinals, enduring a disappointing 61-58 loss earlier this season in Bexley, did not trail in this rematch after forcing Capital to miss 14 of its first 15 shots of the night. Otterbein built an 18-3 lead in the process as the Comets only scored two points from the field in 13 minutes.

As a result, Otterbein regains possession of The Oar and has now won three of the last four Roush Auto Rivalry Showdown. The Cards also creep back to even (5-5) in OAC play to begin the second half of their league round-robin schedule.

HOW IT WENT DOWN:

• Both teams took a little while to settle in the raucous environment, but Otterbein certainly did much quicker in creating a 32-10 lead down the stretch of the first half behind Jack Clement's groove. The All-American, returning after missing two games with an injury, scored nine-straight points to end the frame and give the team a 34-15 edge at the break.
   
• Capital charged out of the locker room with its best stretch of the evening, making a pair of technical free throws to begin and then getting a dunk and consecutive three-pointers. The 10-0 run in just 1:42 of game time forced Otterbein to call a needed timeout, as the lead shrunk to single digits.
   
• Otterbein was having none of that any longer, getting buckets from three different players out of the quick regroup to push the gap back to 40-25.
   
• The Cards ran the margin to as many as 21 by the midway point of the frame, coming on a slick step-back trifecta from Brock Waits on the win, and kept the Comets at arm's length to the wire. Otterbein led by double digits for all but 23 seconds of the latter period.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Clement and Cam Evans teamed for 39 of Otterbein's 75 points, shooting a combined 15 of 26 from the field and also corralling 11 rebounds as a duo.
   
• Six other Cardinals sank multiple buckets from the floor, with twin towers Chase Garito and Troy Scowden each scoring seven while battling defensively in the paint.
   
• Otterbein shot a dead even 50% from the floor compared to a 34% clip on the Capital side, as the visitors were 18% before halftime.
   
• The Cards posted a 40-20 scoring advantage in the paint.

 
UP NEXT:

• Otterbein stays at home to begin next week, looking to avenge another previous loss by hosting Ohio Northern on Wednesday night.