Box Score In an Ohio Athletic Conference showdown at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center, the John Carroll Blue Streaks played host to the visiting Marietta Pioneers for the 62nd meeting between these two teams. Despite owning a 43-18 record all-time against Marietta, including a 26-8 mark at home, the Blue Streaks fell short in a highly contested battle, losing 78-70.

Junior Jake Hollinger led the Blue Streaks with 18 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists but it was not enough as JCU lost their first home game of the season.

"A few 50/50 balls didn't go our way, and we didn't close out on shooters," said Hollinger. "We're just a few mental breakdowns from being a great team."

The game did not start as planned for the Blue Streaks (10-5, 4-4 OAC), who came out of the gate looking lethargic and turnover-prone. A lay up from Marietta's Eddy Grenert gave the Pioneers (11-4, 6-2 OAC) an early 19-8 run just over five minutes into the game. However, the Blue Streaks would respond with an 11-5 run capped off by a 3-pointer from freshman Tim Ludlow to narrow the gap to 24-19.

While the Blue Streaks outshot the Pioneers in the first half (43.3% to 40.0%), it was their 10 turnovers that would plague them in their attempt to take the lead. JCU continued to hang around, but never led in the first half as they trailed by seven at halftime, 41-34.

Out of the gate in the second half, the Pioneers extended their lead to 12, their largest of the day, at a 47-35 clip. But the Blue Streaks refused to simply be buried at home.

Junior David Hendrickson drilled a deep 3-pointer and Hollinger scored a put-back dunk on the ensuing possession to highlight an 8-0 run for JCU, cutting the deficit to 47-43.

The Blue Streaks continued to claw back into the game, using another 3-pointer from Hendrickson to tie the game at 58 with just 8:46 remaining. After the Pioneers went on a 9-2 run to grab a 67-60 lead, the Blue Streaks went on a run of their own.

Freshman Noah Bidar scored on consecutive possessions and junior Will Starks scored a bucket as well to trim the deficit to 67-66. Bidar was fouled on JCU's next possession, and he sank both three throws to give the Blue Streaks their first lead of the game, 68-67, with 4:56 remaining.

Marietta's Andy Stegman then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to tie the game at 68 with less than four minutes remaining. With the score tied, junior Simon Kucharewicz recorded a crucial block with just 3:26 remaining to keep the score even. Less than a minute later with just 2:45 remaining, Hollinger joined in on the block party and picked up block number five on the day. Unfortunately, the block bounced back out near midcourt, was retained by Marietta and turned into a 3-pointer by the Pioneers' Brennan McKean.

In the final two-plus minutes, the Blue Streaks continued to battle but couldn't hit shots when needed. Marietta iced the game from there on out, winning 78-70.

"We came with the game plan to get some screens and rolls up top, and they took the guards away," said Hollinger, who shot 6-of-10 from the field. "When they take the guards away, the post has to be open. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball and I'm glad I finished some."

The team will travel to Otterbein University on Wednesday, Jan. 22 in another OAC matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.