WESTERVILLE — Graduate student Cam Evans led four Cardinals scoring in double figures, and senior Jared Kreager recorded his first career double-double, as the Otterbein men's basketball team fell 71-63 to Mount Union in a tightly contested Ohio Athletic Conference battle on Saturday.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (7-4 overall, 2-2 OAC), Mount Union (7-4 overall, 4-0 OAC)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Evans finished with a team-high 19 points to go with three rebounds and a team-best three assists.
• Junior Juilan Heckman posted 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a team-high five steals. He made a team-best three 3-pointers.
• Kreager added an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double to go with two assists.
• Sophomore Chase Garito finished with 10 points and two rebounds.
• Senior Alex Hannah added eight points and three rebounds. He was 2-for-4 from 3-point range.

Game Highlights

• First Half: Mount Union jumped out to an early nine-point edge, 17-8, with 11:59 remaining, but Hannah responded with a 3-pointer to keep Otterbein within striking distance. Garito and senior Anthony Coppock followed with jumpers, and Kreager added a pair of free throws to tie the score at 17 with 8:14 left. A 3-pointer from Heckman capped a 12-0 Cardinal run that put Otterbein up 20-17 with 7:26 remaining. The teams played to a 27-all tie with 2:12 left before Mount Union took a 31-29 edge into halftime.
• Second Half: Heckman opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer and pulled Otterbein within one, 36-35, with another triple with 18:07 left. A 3-pointer from Kreager once again got the Cardinals within one, 39-38, with 17:12 left, but the Purple Raiders continued to hold the lead. A pair of free throws from Hannah cut the deficit to two, 52-50, with 8:09 remaining before the Purple Raiders answered with an 8-2 run for an eight-point edge with 4:24 left. A layup from Evans got the Cardinals within four, 67-63, with 44 seconds remaining, and a Heckman steal returned possession to Otterbein. Heckman was subsequently fouled but missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Purple Raiders made a pair of free throws at the other end to increase their lead to six en route to the victory.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 45.1% from the field and was 8-of-21 (38.1%) from 3-point range. Mount Union shot 47.3% from the field and was 7-of-20 (35%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the foul line, while the Purple Raiders were 12-of-17 (70.6%). Otterbein out-rebounded Mount Union by a 31-30 margin.

Notables

• Kreager's 10 rebounds marked a single-game career high.
• Heckman's five steals marked a single-game career high.
• Head coach Andy Winters is in his sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 65-58 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Evans ranks 11th all-time at Otterbein in career scoring with 1,447 points. Kelly McClure ('92-'96) ranks 10th with 1,484 points.
• Evans has scored in double figures in nine games this season and is averaging a team-high 20 points per game. Evans entered Saturday ranked second in the OAC in scoring average at 20.1 points per game.
• Heckman has scored in double figures in nine games this season and is averaging 13.3 points per game.
• Mount Union has won 17 straight meetings against Otterbein. The Cardinals' last win over the Purple Raiders was an 86-84 overtime victory in Alliance on Jan. 7, 2017.