WESTERVILLE – The Wilmington College men’s basketball team was held to under 40 percent shooting Saturday in a 70-63 defeat to Otterbein University in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest at the Rike Center.
The first 15 minutes were played within a six-point window as neither team led by more than three points until a Mo Beavers jump shot at the 4:36 mark put Otterbein up 33-28. Wilmington quickly answered with two Jayden Lewis free throws and a three-pointer from Bilal Sow to tie the contest once again.
Two Cardinal free throws at the 2:44 mark proved to be the last points of the half as Otterbein went into the locker room up 35-33.
The second half was much of the same as neither team could separate from the other. A Jackson Todd layup a little over two minutes in put Wilmington on top 42-39, but a 9-0 run from the Cardinals put the host back up six.
The lead would change hands five times from the midway point of the second half to the five-minute mark with a Noah Dado basket giving WC a 56-55 lead.
Otterbein answered with the knock-out punch, an 11-2 run over three minutes to take a 66-58 lead.
Wilmington made 24 field goals and shot a 4-of-21 clip from beyond the three-point arc. Otterbein made 23-of-52 (44.2 percent) alongside converting 18-of-20 from the charity stripe. The Quakers forced 19 turnovers and grabbed 10 steals while the Cardinals countered with a 36-34 edge in rebounding.
Individually a quarter of Quakers – Todd, Dado, Matt Smith and Sow – scored in double figures with Sow and Todd leading the way with 14 points each. Black, Dallas Patrick and Justin Carter scored in double figures for Otterbein.
Wilmington (3-7) will conclude the regular season with a series against Heidelberg University this weekend.
