As Dick Reynolds walked onto the floor Saturday night, he was dressed in his usual attire: a light tan shirt tucked into his dark tan suit. This game, however, was not just another home game in the Rike Center.

It was the final home game of Dick Reynolds and seniors Mark Louks, Steve Issac, Brice Rausch and Chris Davis. Thousands packed the Rike to give Reynolds and the seniors a proper farewell.

The evening started with Reynolds being recognized for his career achievements at Otterbein, for which he was given a standing ovation from the crowd. He received a framed sign with the naming of the new court, “Reynolds Court.” Many alumni players stood next to him on the court and hugged him to show their appreciation for everything he had done.

With tipoff slated at 7:30 p.m., the teams, coaches and fans appeared ready to begin this memorable night. The game started strong with basket-to-basket battles throughout the first half. Going into halftime, Wilmington College had the lead 32-28.

During halftime, the 1981, 1991 and 2002 teams were honored on the newly named Reynolds Court. The 2002 team was honored with a new banner.

When the second half began, the game was filled with fouls, plenty of scoring and loud chants from the crowd. The game proved to be entertaining with a close score until the final few seconds ticked down and gave the Cardinals a win for the record books.

After the Cardinals won 68-65, Reynolds was sent to the Rike lounge to give his first press conference since the 2002 National Championship game.

From the beginning and until he was leaving, Reynolds stayed humble and found it hard to leave. “This is my life; this is my family’s life,” he said. Reynolds then added, “I’m going to miss the university and the young people the most.”

However, this day was not all about Dick Reynolds and the end of his career. It was Senior Day for Davis, Isaac, Louks and Rausch. Before the game started, each one of them was honored at half court with their families.

Davis, who is pursuing a double major in sociology and psychology, said at the press conference, “I wish every game was like this.” The crowd was the size of the ones during their 2002 National Championship run. He then said, “It was really something. Everyone was on their feet at the end, and it just gives truth to what Coach has done over the last 40 years that so many people came back.” Davis was also proud that they made it into the tournament.

Rausch, who is majoring in business administration, described his part on the team as “the silent leader” because he always works hard. Rausch also described scoring his 1000th career point as exciting. “I’m sure it’s everybody’s goal to score or at least get to 1,000 in their career, and not many people do it, especially from the same school,” Rausch said. Davis also scored his 1000th point this year.

Isaac, who was not a starter this year, still proved to be very valuable to the Cardinal team. Isaac, a business administration major, acted as the sideline leader for the team. Throughout the season he averaged six minutes per game and scored a season-high six points at Capital.

Louks, who is majoring in middle childhood education, was deemed the vocal leader last spring by Reynolds. He said that Reynolds told him that as the point guard, he has to be like the quarterback on the team to make sure everyone is in the right place. He certainly did take that role against Wilmington as he played for 27 minutes.

The men entered the OAC Tournament and faced Wilmington in a rematch this past Monday night, but they came up short and ended their season with a 9-17 record.