Box Score

Home court advantage can be one of the most important factors in college basketball. On Saturday afternoon, Ryan Angers and Kenny Janz made sure their advantage would not go to waste. 

John Carroll roared back from 13 points down with 4:56 remaining to stun the Ohio Northern Polar Bears, 78-75, at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Janz led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half to pace the Blue Streaks. Angers also scored a career-high 15 points, while Kyle Hubbard contributed 14 of his own. Brandon Rushton finished with 19 points and four rebounds to lead the Polar Bears.

“It feels awesome to lead the team,” says Janz. “It feels good not only for me, but for the team and all of the fans who came out to support us.”

Both teams struggled to find a consistent rhythm early, with neither holding more than a six point lead in the first half. Ohio Northern was able to hold a slim advantage over the Blue Streaks until a Hubbard jumper at 11:50 remaining in the half gave the team its first lead. 

Ohio Northern closed the half on a 12-5 run. The Blue Streaks trailed by four at intermission despite shooting just 41.7 percent (16-of-28) from the floor in the half. Hubbard and Rushton led all scorers with 10 points each.

Both teams had top players struggle with fouls early. Hubbard picked up two in the first half, while Ohio Northern's second leading scorer, Lucas Pennington, was held scoreless to that point due to three quick fouls.

A slow John Carroll start to the second half let the Polar Bears jump out to a 59-47 lead that forced a Mike Moran timeout at the 11:38 mark. The Polar Bears would not surrender the lead they earned with 4:17 left in the first half until a Janz free throw with 1:53 left in the game.

The Blue Streaks would take back the lead late and hold on to it for good. Four free throws from Angers in the final minute capped off an 18-2 run that awoke the near capacity crowd at the DeCarlo Center. A dunk by Dominique Royal at the 4:56 mark was the final Polar Bear field goal.

Angers was reflective about his predecessor at point guard in those final minutes.

“Seeing Corey [Shontz] close these kinds of games over the years made me want to be like him,” Angers said. “He taught me so much and to do something similar is pretty awesome.”

Corey Shontz, a former All-American point guard for the Blue Streaks, was in attendance at the game.

The Blue Streaks rallied despite shooting poorly in the first half and turning the ball over 12 times. After the game, Moran was ecstatic with his team's performance in the final minutes.

“They showed heart, a lot of heart,” said Moran with a smile. “We wasted some golden opportunities in the first half, and our fortunes turned late when everyone began to contribute.”

With the win, John Carroll improves to 8-8 overall and 5-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Ohio Northern falls to 7-10 overall and 3-7 in OAC play. The Blue Streaks will travel to Alliance, Ohio to battle the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.