Box Score

Failure to execute on both the offensive and defensive end in the final minute of play by the host Blue Streaks spoiled earlier efforts to come back from a 15-point second half deficit, allowing visiting Heidelberg to escape the DeCarlo Varsity Center with an 82-74 victory Wednesday night.

In the last meeting between JCU and Heidelberg, the Student Princes racked up 104 points on their way to a 32-point victory over the Blue Streaks back on January 9, 2008.

After the first 37 minutes of this contest, it looked like Heidelberg was about to do it again.

Both teams exchanged blows early in the first half as neither JCU or Heidelberg could extend a lead larger than six through nearly 16 minutes.

Rudy Kirbus would hit the first of two three pointers to give JCU a 14-11 lead. After a Heidelberg three, Kirbus would strike from beyond the arc 45 seconds later to break the tie. Terry Walsh would extend JCU's lead to five at the 12:04 mark. The five-point margin would be the largest JCU would hold in the first half.

JCU still led 24-21 following Chris Zajac's three at the 10:08 mark. When Jim Smalley would answer to tie the game at 24-24, it would kick start an 11-2 Heidelberg run to open a 32-26 lead at the 7:34 mark.

The Blue Streaks cut the lead to 33-30 before another Heidelberg run. Following a Kyle Hubbard basket at the 5:36 mark of the half, the Student Princes would hit six of the last ten baskets in the half to carry a 47-38 lead into halftime.

Hubbard opened the scoring to start the second half but Heidelberg would score 10 of the next 14 points to open its largest lead of the night. Brian Schmidt's lay-up created a 15-point margin at 57-42 with over 16 minutes to play in regulation.

The Blue Streaks still trailed by 14 points at 63-49 with just under 13 minutes to play. But after scoring only six times in the opening seven minutes, the Blue Streaks would finally get their offense back in gear. The quartet of Walsh, Hubbard, Donte Ledwell and Derek Smith accounted for all 19 points of a 19-6 run that would knot the game at 68-68. Walsh's lay-up at the 7:07 mark was the shot that pulled JCU even.

Once the score was tied, both teams would go ice cold. JCU would make 1-3 from the free throw line while Heidelberg would go 2-5 to account for the only scoring from the seven minute mark until the 3:25 mark.

Chad Szalay would extend Heidelberg's advantage to 72-69 on a pair of free throws with 3:25 left, but Walsh answered at the other end 13 seconds later with two of his own.

Brian Schmidt then made the score 74-71 on a lay-up in the lane, but Walsh tied the game for a tenth and final time with a three-pointer that made the score 74-74 with 2:03 showing on the clock.

Those would be John Carroll's final points.

Heidelberg would get a lay-up from Josh Calver with 1:15 to play, still leaving time for John Carroll to make plays down the stretch. A missed jumper by Maurice Haynes would cost the Blue Streaks on the offensive end, and then an offensive rebound and put back by Andrew Lemmon off a desparation three by Shawn Shriver put Heidelberg ahead 78-74 with 18 seconds left.

Shriver and Szalay went 4-4 down the stetch for the final four points of the contest.

Heidelberg (17-5, 11-4 OAC), which beat John Carroll in University Heights for just the second time in its last 14 visits, received 19 points from both Szalay and Schmidt. Lemmon added 11 -- none bigger than his final two -- as the Student Princes were 30-59 (.508) from the field.

John Carroll (10-11, 7-8 OAC), which is now mired in a season-long four-game losing streak, was paced by a game-high 20 points from Walsh. Hubbard added 13 off the bench thanks to 6-9 shooting from the floor, while Ledwell scored 11 points.