Box Score ADA, Ohio – It became a tough letdown spot for the Otterbein men's basketball team in its first game of the new calendar on Wednesday night, enduring a disappointing 81-67 result at Ohio Northern in a return to league play.

The Cardinals, entering fresh off an upset win over nationally-ranked Illinoi College, fell behind by double digits at the break and couldn't make up ground following intermission. Otterbein snaps a four-game winning streak as a result.

Ohio Northern secures its first OAC win of the season after shooting 54% for the night, spearheaded through a game-high 23 points from Carter Reese.

THE SCRIPT:

• Otterbein committed five turnovers in the opening five minutes of the game, as Ohio Northern eventually built a 20-8 lead by the midway point of the first half.
   
• The Cards settled in and tried to stay close, shrinking a 16-point deficit down to just nine before ONU pushed that back to double digits by intermission.
   
• Senior guard Cam Evans, with just 1:18 to play before the break, buried a pair of free throws to reach 1,000 points for his career. He becomes just the 29th player in a long program history to hit the milestone.
   
• Otterbein still trailed by 11 early in the second half but a huge Polar Bear run created too much separation. The hosts embarked on a 13-2 run over the next few minutes, expanding the margin to 22 points and never looking back.
   
• The Cards kept grinding down the stretch and shrunk the final margin, getting layups from three different players in the final 100-ish seconds.

THE BOX SCORE:

• Otterbein had 18 turnovers in the game which resulted in 20 points for ONU going the other way in such sequences.
   
• Reese shot 8 of 14 for the home side in leading all scorers while teammate Cayden Jacoby had another 18.
   
• Jack Clement posted 19 points and six boards (7-of-12 shooting) to guide the Cards, with Evans adding 13 and eight himself. Jared Kreager continued his strong contributions off the bench and nearly achieved a double-double with 10 points and nine caroms off the glass.
   
• The Cards finished with a 37-25 rebounding edge but struggled from behind the arc, going just 2 of 16 in the category while ONU made 10 trifectas on the opposite end.

UP NEXT:

The Cards will need to regroup quickly with last year's national runner-up Mount Union coming to town this weekend, as the (now) No. 14-ranked Purple Raiders visit the Rike Center on Saturday afternoon. Tip will be at 1 p.m.