As the Otterbein men’s basketball team entered day two of the Smokey Ballenger Tournament, they were looking to shake off a tough overtime loss Friday evening in which they spoiled an 18 point first half lead.
Otterbein came out flat on offense as they shot just 25.9% in the first half of play, leading to prominent scorers such as senior Zach Bakenhaster and junior Max Van Meter combining for just 4 first half points.
Perhaps the only bright spot for the Cardinals offensively was the stellar shooting of sophomore Matt McCollister, who made all three of his three point attempts in the first half to lead the team with 9 points at the half.
Penn State-Behrend on the other hand shot 38.1% from the field as they opened up a 13 point halftime lead, thanks large in part to superb free throw shooting (10-12 FT in first half).
Early in the second half, it was apparent that the Lions were not going to let up anytime soon, as they made 4 of 5 shots from the field to open up the second half.
For the Cards, their first half shooting woes carried over, as they connected on just 4 of 12 shot attempts midway through the second half.
The Cardinals never were able to establish a scoring threat as McCollister continued to lead the team in scoring with just 9 points late in the final half of play.
Down the stretch, Otterbein trailed by their largest deficit of 30 points at one time, eventually falling by a final score of 62-40.
McCollister led the Cards with 9 points, all in the first half, on 3 of 6 shooting from the field.
Van Meter followed with 6 points and 3 rebounds, while junior Jon Juergens and junior Colin Echelberry both scored 4 points.
Bakenhaster was held scoreless for the Cardinals (0-3 FG).
With their second loss in less than twenty-four hours, Otterbein falls to 5-6 overall on the season.
Next up for the Cardinals is an OAC home matchup versus Baldwin-Wallace on January 2nd at 7:30pm.
Weighing the cost of being a student
