WESTERVILLE — Graduate student Cam Evans scored 21 points to lead the Otterbein men's basketball team in a down-to-the-wire 58-57 loss to Wilmington in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (9-7 overall, 4-5 OAC), Wilmington (3-13 overall, 1-8 OAC)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Evans added six rebounds to his team-high 21 points. He was 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.
• Junior Troy Scowden joined Evans in double figures, scoring 12 points and adding five rebounds and two assists.
• Senior Jared Kreager tallied seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
• Sophomore Chase Garito posted seven points and four rebounds.
• Senior Anthony Coppock added six points.

Game Highlights

• First Half: Otterbein opened the game on a 9-2 run courtesy of seven points from Evans and two from Kreager. Wilmington later shrank the lead to one on a pair of occasions before Otterbein went back up by seven, 17-10, on a 3-pointer from Garito with 8:55 left. After the Quakers got back within two with 1:18 remaining, the Cardinals closed the first-half scoring with an and-1 from Evans with 32 seconds left en route to taking a 29-24 edge into halftime.
• Second Half: The Quakers opened the second half with an 8-0 that included a pair of 3-pointers to take a 32-29 lead with 17:39 remaining. Otterbein regained the lead at 33-32 on a jumper from Kreager with 15:05 left, and the teams proceeded to play to tie scores at 35, 38 and 40. Wilmington proceeded to put together an 11-4 run for a 51-44 lead with 6:22 left and again led by seven, 53-46, with 5:12 remaining. Otterbein answered with a 5-0 run via a pair of free throws from Evans and a 3-pointer from Kreager to get within two, 53-51, with 4:03 left. But Wilmington came right back with a 3-pointer to end that spurt and regain a five-point edge. Two free throws each from Scowden and Evans got Otterbein back within one, 56-55, with 2:28 remaining, and a Coppock layup answered a Quaker jumper to keep the deficit at one with 1:20 left. After Otterbein forced a Quaker missed shot, Evans missed on a 3-point attempt at the other end, and the Cardinals were forced to start fouling. With 14 seconds left, the Cardinals forced a Wilmington turnover on the ensuing possession following the foul but were unable to get a shot off against the Quaker defense before time expired.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 36.7% from the field and was 4-of-20 (20%) from 3-point range. Wilmington shot 41.1% from the field and was 12-of-31 (38.7%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 17-of-24 (70.8%) from the foul line, while the Quakers did not attempt any free throws. Otterbein out-rebounded Wilmington by a 38-31 margin.

Notables

• Head coach Andy Winters is in his sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 67-61 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Evans ranks ninth all-time at Otterbein in career scoring with 1,531 points. Mike McKinney ('82-'86) ranks eighth with 1,582 points.
• Evans has scored in double figures in 13 games this season and is averaging a team-high 19 points per game. He entered Wednesday ranked second in the OAC in scoring average (18.9 points per game), tied for second free-throw percentage (84.6%) and third in free throws made (66).
• Scowden has scored in double figures in five games, including each of the past four, and is averaging 7.5 points per game.
• Otterbein entered Wednesday in fifth place in the OAC standings, two games behind a three-way tie for second between John Carroll, Heidelberg and Muskingum.
• Wilmington holds a 26-8 edge in the series against Otterbein dating back to 2009, but the Cardinals have won six of the past eight meetings.