Now, they wait.
 
Top-seeded John Carroll University got eliminated from the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Friday after a 104-97 loss to fifth-seeded Heidelberg University. 

Box Score

The defeat stopped the Blue Streaks' winning streak at 11 and dashed their chance for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Instead, they must earn an at-large bid from the tournament committee. The 64-team field is expected to be announced on Monday morning. 

“I think our resume speaks for itself,'' senior forward Rudy Kirbus said, referring to his team's 20-6 record and OAC regular-season championship. “I would think we're one of the top 64 teams in the country.” 

But Friday, the top team in its conference got beat in a high-scoring game that looked like a track meet at times. 

With both teams subbing entire lineups at one time, there were a lot of fresh legs on the court. 

Unfortunately for JCU, those fresh legs couldn't keep up defensively with the Student Princes. 

“They kind of exploited our weaknesses, especially our ... defense,'' JCU coach Mike Moran said. 

The Blue Streaks got beat on the boards, grabbing eight fewer rebounds than Heidelberg. 

It didn't help that their shooting percentages plummeted in the second half, too. 

After shooting 83 percent from the 3-point line and nearly 68 percent overall from the field in the first half, JCU made just 22 percent of its 3s and 34 percent of its baskets from the field after the break. 

“ We didn't have a couple of good spurts like we usually do,'' Moran said. 

Sophomore guard Corey Shontz led JCU with 15 points in the first half, sinking almost every basket he took. 

But in the second half, he was held scoreless. 

And no one really picked up the slack. 

Sophomore center Matt Crozier finished with a team-high 16 points. Six of those points came at the free-throw line. 

Kirbus, who had 10 points, said he thinks his team got tired. 

“We usually wear teams down,'' he said. “But they kind of wore us down.” 

A sign that Heidelberg was going to push JCU to the end came in the final few minutes of the first half.
 
The Student Princes erased a 10-point Blue Streaks lead in the final four minutes of the half to tie the game at 56. 

They pulled ahead quickly in the second half and held a lead much of the final 20 minutes. 

JCU had its chance at the end, tying the game at 91 with about four minutes left. 

But a questionable blocking call on Kirbus sent game-high scorer Josh Calver to the foul line. 

Calver, who scored 30 points, made one of his two free throws. But it was his 3-pointer that followed that gave Heidelberg the momentum it needed to hang on for the victory. 

“They were a little hungrier than we were,'' Moran said, adding: “Maybe we're still celebrating the OAC regular-season championship.” 

Senior Maurice Haynes put it in more practical terms: “The free-throws and rebounding killed us.” 

The Blue Streaks made just 46 percent of their free throws (7 of 15) and had eight fewer rebounds than Heidelberg. 

Still, Moran and his players are optimistic that their regular-season success will land them in the NCAA tournament. 

“I'd be disappointed if we didn't get a spot,'' Moran said. “You know what? We're the top-ranked team in our region. And I feel our conference, top to bottom, is the best conference in the region.” 

Said Haynes: “We're pretty confident we'll get in the tournament.”