WESTERVILLE, Ohio – In a game that stayed tight well into the second half, Otterbein men's basketball used a late run to finally create separation and earn a 74–66 Ohio Athletic Conference win over Ohio Northern on Wednesday night inside the Rike Center.

The first half was back-and-forth throughout, with neither team building much breathing room. Otterbein went into the break holding a slim 32–30 advantage after steady inside scoring and second-chance opportunities kept the Cardinals in control by the narrowest of margins.

That same theme carried into the second half. Otterbein had a few stretches where it looked like the game might open up, but Ohio Northern continued to chip away and keep the margin within reach.

The difference came late. With the Polar Bears still hanging around, Dominic Theado sparked the run that finally made the lead stick. The freshman finished at the rim to make it 57–52 with 5:42 left, then followed with another layup at the 5:18 mark to push the margin to 59–52. After a free throw from senior Troy Scowden extended it to 60–52 with 4:32 remaining, sophomore Micah Germany delivered the moment of emphasis by burying a three-pointer at 4:18 to make it 63–52 and give Otterbein its first real cushion of the night.

Otterbein stayed composed from there, continuing to get to the line and closing out the win.

Scowden led the Cardinals with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Theado added 12. Germany finished with 11 points on three triples, and senior Julian Heckman chipped in 10 points with five assists and three steals. Freshman Carter Piatt-Brown added nine points and six rebounds.

Otterbein improves to 13–2 overall and 5–1 in OAC play and will travel to Muskingum on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff.