WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University men's basketball team traveled to Otterbein on Saturday looking to knock off the 7-2 Cardinals. In the end, the Battling Bishops fell behind early and were unable to claw back, ultimately falling 77-54. 

OWU falls to 3-7, 0-2 in NCAC play. Otterbein improves to 8-2 and are 2-1 in the OAC. 

Otterbein jumped out to a 12-4 lead within the first four minutes of play and quickly created a deficit for the Red and Black. Three minutes later, the Bishops sparked a 13-9 run to trim the Cardinals' lead to 25-20. That would be as close as Ohio Wesleyan would get, as Otterbein closed the half on a 14-5 run to take a 39-23 lead into the break.

Following halftime, the Cardinals continued to control the contest. With just over 13 minutes remaining, Otterbein's Troy Scowden knocked down two free throws to cap a 10-0 run and extend the lead to 56-29, the Cardinals' largest advantage of the day. The Bishops were unable to cut into the deficit the rest of the way, dropping the contest 77–54.

THE NUMBERS
OWU shot 38.9% from the field, and just 21.1% from three.  

Peyton Frey and Jessee Battle led the Bishop offense with 12 points each. Frey added a team-high eight rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Battle grabbed two rebounds. 

Jake Lowman contributed seven points, three steals, and two rebounds. 

Quinn Hart tallied five points and four rebounds. 

James McCarthy had four points off the bench. 

UP NEXT
The Battling Bishops will look to bounce back at home on December 31st against Denison, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. inside Branch Rickey Arena.