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Otterbein University Athletics

Otterbein Cardinals

MBB - Ju OAC
82
Winner Heidelberg HEID 16-12,7-9 OAC
75
Otterbein OTT 22-5,13-3 OAC
Winner
Heidelberg HEID
16-12,7-9 OAC
82
Final
75
Otterbein OTT
22-5,13-3 OAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Heidelberg HEID 39 43 82
Otterbein OTT 29 46 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Late Cardinal rally falls short in OAC Tournament Championship

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Despite some late magic, the run was not enough as the No. 20 nationally ranked Otterbein University men's basketball team dropped an 82-75 decision in the OAC Tournament Championship game to Heidelberg University. 

Heidelberg came out of the gates strong, seemingly unable to miss in the first half. The Student Princes connected on five 3-pointers in the first half to build a 39-29 lead by the break. On the other end, Otterbein sank just one 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes, compared to 11 in the second half.

In the second half, the Cardinals chipped away at the Berg lead, trimming it to single digits but never quite able to make it a one possession game until the final seconds. Micah Germany and Kyle Niehaus buried some big threes late, but the deficit was too much as the Berg connected on free throws down the stretch.

As a team, Otterbein shot just 50 percent from the foul line, going 9 of 18. The Berg finished the night shooting 75 percent from the charity stripe. 

Julian Heckman scored 20 points to lead all players, bringing down nine rebounds and dishing out six assists. He was one of five Cardinals to finish in double figures, joined by Germany (12 points), Dominic Theado (11 points), Reece Huber (14 points) and Troy Scowden (11 points). 

Following the game, both Heckman and Huber were named to the OAC All-Tournament Team for their efforts in both Thursday's and Saturday's games. 

Otterbein will await its fate to see if they get an at-large bid into next week's NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be aired on ncaa.com on Monday at 1 p.m.
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