DELAWARE — A late 3-pointer and 4-for-4 showing from the free-throw line helped the Otterbein men's basketball team hold on for a 63-59 win at Ohio Wesleyan in a tightly contested game on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (2-1 overall), Ohio Wesleyan (2-2 overall)
• Venue: Branch Rickey Arena - Delaware, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Junior Julian Heckman and senior Jared Kreager led the Cardinals in scoring with 13 points each.
• Heckman was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and 2-for-2 from 3-point range while adding two rebounds and three assists to his stat line.
• Kreager was 3-for-4 from the foul line and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
• Graduate student Cam Evans finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
• Redshirt junior Jarius Jones tallied eight points and six rebounds and was 4-for-5 from the foul line.
• Sophomore Chase Garito had eight points and three rebounds.
• Junior Troy Scowden posted six points, six rebounds and four assists.

Game Highlights

• First Half: The game began with a back-and-forth exchange between the two teams. Ohio Wesleyan jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, but Evans responded with a 3-pointer. Jones then went on a tear, sinking a 3-pointer and converting an and-one layup to give the Cardinals a one-point advantage. The Bishops later extended their lead to seven points, but the Cardinals steadily chipped away to tie the game back up at 23-23. The Cardinals were about to build their largest lead of the game at three points, but OWU answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 26-26 heading into halftime.
• Second Half: Trailing 32-31, the Cardinals went on a 12-0 run starting with a layup from Evans followed by a 3-pointer from Heckman. Kreager made a layup and a 3-pointer, and Scowden followed with a layup going into an OWU timeout with the Cardinals up 43-32 with 14:24 remaining. The Bishops made two straight 3-pointers out of the timeout to cut the deficit to five, 43-38, and another triple got them within two, 45-43, with 10:24 left. Otterbein held onto the lead until OWU tied the score at 53 with 3:51 remaining. A 3-pointer from Kreager put the Cardinals up 59-55 with 1:45 remaining, but OWU answered with a triple to get back within one. Kreager made a pair of free throws with six seconds left to put Otterbein up 61-58, and OWU split two foul shots at the other end, making the score 61-59 with four seconds remaining. Heckman sealed the 63-59 win for the Cardinals with a pair of free-throw makes with just one second left.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 37% from the field and was 7-of-14 (50%) from 3-point range. Ohio Wesleyan shot 40.4% from the field and was 11-of-33 (33.3%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the foul line, while the Bishops were 2-of-4 (50%). Otterbein out-rebounded OWU by a 42-28 margin.

Notables

• Head coach Andy Winters is in his sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 60-55 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Evans ranks 18th all-time at Otterbein in career scoring with 1,277 points.
• Saturday's game marked the second of four straight against North Coast Athletic Conference opponents for Otterbein. The Cardinals fell 88-77 to Wooster on Nov. 17 and will play at Denison on Nov. 26 and host Kenyon on Dec. 1.