All eyes were on mark Hester Saturday against Capital, as the junior stepped up with a career-high 18 points
The past five games between John Carroll and the Capital Crusaders had gone the Blue Streaks way, and tonight's contest continued that trend.
In a physical game that ended with 46 fouls, the Streaks prevailed 82-77 in front of a rowdy crowd at the DeCarlo Varsity Center. The victory moved John Carroll (12-5 overall, 7-3 OAC) into a tie with the Crusaders for second place in the Ohio Athletic Conference behind Marietta.
Box Score
"We play a difficult schedule with a lot of close games,” said John Carroll head coach Mike Moran. “Tonight's game came down to perseverance and we never stopped battling.”
Both teams knew coming into this matchup that the game would likely come down to the wire, as Mike Moran's squad sat atop the OAC in scoring offense, and the Crusaders were second in scoring defense.
It would be another "not for the faint of heart" episode in this storied OAC rivalry.
The first 10 minutes of the game were all Capital, as the team shot 67 percent from the field, edging the Streaks 17-13. But JCU hung with the Crusaders and trailed by three at the half.
Junior forward
Mark Hester (Ashtabula, OH, Lakeside)helped the Blue Streaks overcome that gap after the break.
He stepped up big for John Carroll, finishing the night with 18 points and six rebounds. Seven of those points came in a six-minute stretch of the first half. His efforts helped to erase an 11 point deficit, pulling JCU within three at the half, as they trailed 37-34.
The Blue Streaks, who lead the league in three point field goal percentage (.425) were a stunning 0-11 in the first half.
The Crusaders shot 54 percent in the first half, and were led by Kelly Winter who was 5-6 with 10 points, and Tyler Munro and Michael Sommer, who both hit a pair of three pointers, netting 7 and 6 points each.
The second half would prove to be a turnaround for the Streaks, as they capitalized on their strength in perimeter shooting and took care of the basketball.
John Carroll would finish the half 8-13 behind the three-point arc, and turned the ball over just four times. The Crusaders had 12 turnovers in the game, with eight of them coming in the second half.
With 12:46 to go in the game, Mike Hartnett hit a three, and
Corey Shontz capitalized on a Crusader turnover on the in-bounds pass to bring JCU closer as they trailed 49-44. Two minutes later, Hester netted a three to give John Carroll its first lead of the half, 51-49.
With eight minutes to play,
Conor Sweeney (Eastlake, OH, Cleveland St. Ignatius)banked in a three to give the Streaks a 61-58 lead that they would never lose.
Although junior guard
Joe Meyer (Mentor, OH, Mentor)fouled out with over six muinutes left top play,
Corey Shontz (Andover, OH, Pymatuning Valley) stepped up and hit a three at the 4:13 mark to give JCU a 73-66 lead.
“After being around this game long enough, you'll see everything,” said JCU assistant coach
Frank O'Brien. “Joe (Meyer) is the type of player who may have to play physical and foul out one night, but then come back next game and hit nine three pointers.”
With 3:24 left to play, senior
Maurice Haynes II (Cleveland, OH, Villa Angela-St. Joseph)fouled out, and Hester took his place.
Mark Hester (Ashtabula, OH, Lakeside)responded by hitting two big three pointers to keep the distance between Capital.
“Mark's a very talented player,” said Coach Mike Moran. “He only keeps getting better and could emerge into one of the top players in the OAC.”
“I just tried to play my game and do whatever I could do to help my team win,” said Hester.
