Box Score

As it turned out, free throws were worth more than field goals Saturday afternoon as preseason Ohio Athletic Conference favorite Capital outlasted upstart John Carroll by an 81-75 count in a league match-up staged in Bexley, Ohio.

JCU actually made more field goals (29-25) than Capital, but the Crusaders were 35-43 at the free throw line compared to John Carroll's 20-27.

Last season, John Carroll made the tip to Bexley and suffered a 113-78 defeat that marked one of the largest losing margins in Mike Moran's tenure as the Blue Streaks head coach. From the outset this afternoon, there would not be a repeat performance.

The host Crusaders held the lead for the first nine minutes of the contest, but John Carroll overcame an early 16-11 deficit to take its first lead on the strength of an 8-0 run. John Carroll would move to a 28-24 lead with 5:35 left in the opening period on a pair of Tommy Lavelle free trhows.

For the remaidner of the half, it would be a see-saw affair as the lead changed hands four times and there were three ties. It took a Rudy Kirbus lay-up in the final minute to give John Carroll a 37-35 advantage heading into the locker room.

Capital came out on fire in the second half, ripping off 24 of the first 32 points. When Nate Stahl made a lay-up with 13:13 showing on the second half clock, the Crusaders were ahead by their largest margin of the day, 59-45.

The Blue Streaks did not let Capital run away. A slow but steady comeback brought JCU to within one point at 65-54 with 7:18 to play when Chris Zajac made a three-pointer.

On the next possession, JCU had a chance to take the lead but missed a shot, and Capital answered by scoring the next seven points. The Blue Streaks pulled to within three on two occasions in the final two minutes, but never had the ball in their hands with a chance to tie.

Capital (7-1, 2-1 OAC) was paced by a game-high 20 points from Stahl, the 2008 OAC Player of the Year. Casey Brown added 13 points and a game high 14 rebounds as the Crusaders handily won the battle of the boards, 48-28.

John Carroll (4-3, 2-1 OAC) received a second consecutive career-high effort by Zajac, who shared the team scoring lead with Kirbus as each had 15. Maurice Haynes II had 14 points as JCU committed just eight turnovers while forcing 18.