Box Score

After trailing most of the game, including a 14-point deficit midway through the second half, the Blue Streaks crept back and ultimately prevailed with an exciting 84-82 overtime victory against Wilmington College Saturday afternoon.

The win over the Quakers allowed John Carroll to maintain possession of second place in the Ohio Athletic Conference, along with Marietta. It also helped them snap a two-game losing streak.

“You have to be able to close games, and we were able to close today,” said JCU head coach Mike Moran.

To watch the archived video of the game, click here

Falling in consecutive games is something that the John Carroll men's basketball team isn't exactly familiar with. After losing back-to-back OAC matchups to Otterbein and Baldwin-Wallace, the Blue Streaks didn't want to drop a third straight game. Nobody on the current JCU roster has ever experienced a three game skid.

John Carroll (16-6, 11-5 OAC) ran its perfect home record to 8-0 this season, winning its 14th straight game against Wilmington (12-10, 10-6 OAC) in University Heights.

With a packed house in store for what was another high intensity OAC matchup, the two teams exchanged punches in the first half but neither could separate itself from the other.

Despite making 15 of their 32 shots (46.9%) before the break, the Blue Streaks struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on only three of their 13 attempts from long distance. The Quakers made only 10 of their 25 shot attempts in the first half, but that included five of 10 3-point attempts, and the visitors went to intermission with a narrow 37-35 lead.

Starting off the second half hot, Wilmington extended their advantage to as many as eight, swinging the momentum in their favor.

With 10:55 remaining in the game, the Quakers led by 14 at 61-47, and it was clear that the Blue Streaks needed to make a move or be left behind. The veteran JCU squad answered, scoring six unanswered points to cut the deficit to eight, 61-53, with 9:23 remaining.

Minutes later, back-to-back steals by senior Patrick Sweeney translated into two easy layups that trimmed the Quakers lead to six, 65-59, with 6:23 remaining. Senior Corey Shontz then intercepted a pass of his own and was fouled . After making both free throws, Shontz and the Blue Streaks trailed by only four, 65-61.

A bucket by Kyle Hubbard with 1:24 remaining narrowed the deficit to just a single point as the Blue Streaks trailed 73-72. A foul against the Quakers shortly thereafter led to two free throws for Michael Hartnett, who hit the pair to give the Blue & Gold their first lead since the first half.

Following a game-tying lay-up by Wilmington's Malcolm Heard III with less than 20 seconds to play, a potential game-winning 3-pointer by Hartnett went in-and-out, sending the game to overtime tied at 75.

With the score knotted at 82 and 35.8 seconds on the clock, the Blue Streaks had possession of the ball following a timeout. Senior Mark Hester scored a layup with 8.6 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired, giving JCU the 84-82 lead. Strong defense and a lack of urgency on the side of the Quakers led to Wilmington not even being able to attempt another shot as the game ended in overtime with JCU taking the 84-82 win.

“I didn't want to settle for a jump shot,” said Hester on his game-winning layup. “Once I saw the smaller defender on me, I just took advantage of that and drove.”

In the second half, the Quakers made 60.9 percent of their shots compared to the Blue Streaks' mark of 35.7 percent. Despite those numbers and the fact that John Carroll trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, they found a way to battle back and pick up a much needed win at home.

“It was defense. Coach called a timeout and stressed defense to us and we got stops when we needed them and our team stepped up big,” said Hester. “We want to go into the OAC tournament with as much momentum as possible and we came away with a huge win today.” The Blue Streaks still have two games remaining before the start of tournament play.

The Blue Streaks struggled from beyond the arc on the day, hitting only five of their 25 shots from downtown. Despite Wilmington making nine of their 19 shots from 3-point territory, the Blue Streaks withstood the strong offensive performance from the Quakers.

“It was like salt and pepper. We did something good and then we would follow it by doing something bad,” added Moran. “I still don't know how we won that game.”

With the win and Capital losing to Baldwin-Wallace, the Blue Streaks are now only one game back of the Crusaders for first place in the OAC. With only two more games remaining on the regular season schedule, time is short, but the coaching staff and team recognize that anything is possible.

“We're playing a team that beat us already earlier this season in Muskingum,” said Moran on JCU's game this coming Wednesday against the Muskies. “We're not going to be able to defend Marietta or Capital on Wednesday. All we can do is concentrate on who we're playing.”