Box Score

John Carroll made key plays down the stretch to survive a severe test from host Wilmington College to claim the 2008-09 Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title outright with a 75-72 win Saturday at Fred Raizk Arena in Wilmington, Ohio.

The victory secures the #1 seed in next week's OAC postseason tournament and home court advantage for the Blue Streaks throughout its run in the playoffs.

JCU trailed 65-63 with just under four minutes left when Tyler Kirsch (Gates Mills, OH, Hawken) tied the contest on a lay-up with 3:53 to play.

That basket was followed by two free throws by Maurice Haynes II (Cleveland, OH, Villa Angela-St. Joseph) at the 3:18 mark, and a jumper by Rudy Kirbus (Willoughby Hills, OH, Cleveland St. Ignatius) that put John Carroll on top 69-65 with 2:37 to play.

Neither team could score for the next two minutes until Wilmington's Brandon Rogers drew the Quakers to within two points at 69-67 on a jumper with 40 seconds showing on the second half clock.

From there, the Blue Streaks would rely on a clutch shot by Chris Zajac (Brecksville, OH, Brecksville-Broadview Heights) with 19 seconds left, and 4-4 free throw shooting by Brian Dandrea (Allison Park, PA, Hampton) to hold off the home team in the closing seconds.

John Carroll, which defeated Wilmington by a 92-66 count in the season's first go around thanks to scoring the first 17 points, did not have the same start to today's game -- although it was still a strong burst from the gates. When Michael Hartnett (North Royalton, OH, Lakewood St. Edward) buried a three-pointer at the 16:16 mark of the first half, JCU led by a score of 9-2.

But the game would be extremely competitive from that point on. The Quakers would take a 12-11 lead on a Tyler White jumper with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening period. Wilmington led by as  many as seven points before taking a 37-36 lead into the intermisison.

Haynes would put JCU back ahead on a jumper to start the second half, but Wilmington would follow by scoring 11 of the next 14 points. When Justin Tillman's jumper found its target, he put the Quakers ahead 48-41 with 16:10 on the clock.

The Blue Streaks answered back with a 10-2 run, only to have Wilmington shoot back with seven unanswered points. From there, the lead would change hands five more times before Haynes' free throws at the 3:18 mark gave John Carroll the lead for good.

John Carroll (20-4, 16-2 OAC) was paced by a game-high 24 points from Kirbus, while Zajac (11) and Haynes (10) joined him in double figures. The Blue Streaks were very solid from the free throw line, making 18-20 (.900) for the game from the charity stripe.

Wilmington (16-9, 12-6 OAC) was led by 17 points from Justin Gaines and 11 from White, who was the only bench player on either side to score in double figures. The Quakers were 22-47 from inside the three-point arc, but 4-16 (.250) outside of it.

Both teams earned top four finishes in the OAC regular season standings, and will host quarterfinal round game in the OAC Tournament on Wednesday, February 25.