CINCINNATI, Ohio – A dominant second half pushed the Otterbein University men's basketball team to a convincing 78-52 road win at Mount St. Joseph on Thursday night.

The Cardinals carried a 27-25 lead into halftime after a competitive first half, with MSJ's 15-10 margin serving as its largest lead before Otterbein controlled the rest of the way.

Out of halftime, sophomore Micah Germany set the tone with a quick basket to make it 29-25. The Lions answered, but the Cardinals soon delivered the first major swing. Beginning at the 17:20 mark, Germany buried a three-pointer before seniors Julian Heckman and Troy Scowden scored on consecutive layups, stretching the lead to 41-32.

Mount St. Joseph trimmed the deficit with a layup, but Otterbein responded with another surge. Freshman Dominic Theado split a pair of free throws, Scowden added two more at the line, and Heckman finished at the rim to suddenly make it a 46-34 spread. From there, the Cardinals never looked back.

Heckman drilled a three-pointer midway through the half to push the margin into double digits, and junior Chase Garito followed with a pair of strong finishes inside. Heckman then hit another shot from deep to extend the lead to 62-46 before Garito added another layup, helping the Cards grow the advantage to as many as 26 points in the closing minute.

Heckman paced Otterbein with 16 points, while also contributing five steals and four rebounds. Garito turned in a performance of his own, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven boards. Germany and Scowden added 12 points each to round out a balanced offensive night.

The Cardinals return home next Tuesday, Nov. 18, to host La Roche at 7 p.m.,