Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 82, Otterbein 76

Junior post Grant Gossard (Westerville/Olentangy Orange) had 13 points and junior guard Jaret Gerber (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) added 10 more as Ohio Wesleyan built a 14-point halftime lead, and the Bishops withstood an Otterbein comeback to defeat the Cardinals in the first night of the NCAC/OAC Challenge, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

In Tuesday's opener, Wittenberg defeated Capital by an 88-78 count.

Ohio Wesleyan broke a 2-2 tie with a 10-0 run, collecting a 3-pointer and a fast-break jumper from Gerber, a Gossard dunk, and a 3-pointer by freshman post Nick Carlson (Dublin/Coffman).  A Carlson lay-in and a Gossard 3-pointer extended the Bishop lead to 17-4 just over 4 minutes into the game.

Otterbein narrowed the deficit to 35-27 with an 8-1 run that included 3-pointers by Maurice Beavers and Kobe Long-Weber, but Ohio Wesleyan countered with an 8-0 run that saw freshman wing Gabe Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Wheaton St. Francis) knock down a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws before Gerber buried a 3-pointer for a 43-27 Bishop lead.

The Bishops would take a 50-36 lead into the locker room, and 3-pointers by Gerber and Carlson helped Ohio Wesleyan open up a 63-43 lead less than 4 minutes into the second half.

Ohio Wesleyan still led by a 74-57 count after a Carlson jumper with 7:11 left in regulation time, but Otterbein scored the next 12 points as Long-Weber and Beavers connected from long range before 3-pointers from Beavers and Jake Justice made it 74-69 with 4:24 to play.

Gossard sank a lay-in to end the Bishop scoring drought of more than 5 minutes, and sophomore wing Dawsin Tillman (Bellefontaine) followed with a lay-in for a 78-69 lead with 1:19 to go.

Trading fouls for possessions, the Cardinals drew closer when Ohio Wesleyan twice missed the front end of a one-and-one, with Otterbein getting a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Beavers to pull within 78-74 with :26 to play.

Gerber sank a pair of free throws at the :25 mark, and after a Justice lay-in, junior post Tim Kiefer (North Olmsted/Cleveland St. Ignatius) buried a pair of free throws for the 82-76 final.

Gossard led the Bishops with 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.  Gerber finished with 18 points, Carlson also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, Kiefer scored a career-high 10 points, and freshman wing Ethan Stanislawski (Massillon/Jackson) led the Bishops with 5 assists.

Beavers led Otterbein with 28 points.

The NCAC/OAC Challenge resumes on Sunday at Capital, with Wittenberg facing Otterbein at 4 p.m. and Ohio Wesleyan taking on Capital at 6 p.m.

Box Score