Box Score Experience has not been a calling card for the John Carroll University men's basketball team this season. The plethora of youth on the JCU roster has helped the Blue Streaks appreciate their veteran leaders, Jordan Murphy and Spencer Roule.

The Blue and Gold took time to celebrate them on Wednesday evening, rolling to a 72-55 victory in front of an excited JCU crowd in the team's last regular season appearance in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Following a 97-74 loss to Wilmington at home on Sunday, in which the Blue and Gold struggled on the defensive end, the Blue Streaks concentrated early on playing defense. Their improved effort showed as Otterbein missed its first nine shots from the field and was held to four points in the opening ten minutes.

"It was great to back on track tonight," said assistant coach Frank O'Brien. "It might be our best defensive effort all year."

Jake Hollinger was particularly effective on defense, recording four blocks in the first half alone (five overall). His efforts were partially responsible for Otterbein's shooting percentage 30.8 percent from the field. Comparatively, JCU shot 48.6 percent from the field.

David Linane sparked the JCU offense early on. The freshman sunk a pair of three pointers to put JCU up 9-4 seven minutes into the contest. Hollinger, Doug Caputo and Will Starks all played a part in helping the Blue Streaks build a 24-8 lead midway through the first half.

The Cardinals finally began to came alive as the latter half of the first stanza progressed, as the Cardinals put together a 6-0 run over a three-minute span.

Danny Wallack ended that spree with 5:10 to play in the half. The sophomore buried JCU's fourth three-pointer of the night to up the JCU lead to 27-14. A few possessions later, Hollinger threw down a monster two-handed dunk, thrilling the JCU faithful and making the score 29-16 with 2:16 remaining in the half.

Jake Biscoff buried another three-pointer to narrow JCU's advantage within nine with 1:10 left to play, but Murphy answered with his second bucket of the evening to push the Blue Streaks lead to double digits.

"It was a great team win," said Murphy. "We didn't shoot the ball well but that was one of the better defensive games I think we've played all year. We didn't allow them a lot of open looks and they really struggled to get going. Our defense really won us this game and made up for us not shooting like we usually do."

The Blue Streaks also got a big boost heading into the locker room. Linane nailed a fade-away three-pointer from the corner to grant the Blue Streaks a 34-19 lead heading into the second half.

Otterbein continued to make mistakes early in the second half. While Matt Rhodes hit a three-pointer at the 16 minute mark, the Cardinals left the lane open for Linane on the ensuing possession, allowing JCU to build on its double digit lead. Having seen enough, Otterbein head coach Todd Adrian opted to take a timeout as the Blue Streaks held a commanding 46-32 lead seven minutes into the second stanza.

Finding no room in the post, the Cardinals were forced to take desperation shots from behind the arc. Otterbein made a handful, but each time the Cardinals hit one, the Blue and Gold answered. Jake Phillips buried a trey with 11:45 to play, but Wallack hit one on JCU's next possession. Rhodes knocked one down with nine minutes remaining, but Starks sank one of his own in response, making the score 59-45.

The Blue and Gold did not let off the gas pedal as the half progressed. Over the next six minutes, JCU continued to play a pesky press defense, using steals and easy buckets to roll to an 11-2 run. With 2:45 to play in the contest, the game was far out of reach, as the Blue Streaks held a 70-47 lead.

"It was a great team win," said Murphy. "We didn't shoot the ball well but that was one of the better defensive games I think we've played all year. We didn't allow them a lot of open looks and they really struggled to get going. Our defense really won us this game and made up for us not shooting like we usually do."

Caputo and Linane each tallied 11 points to lead the Blue Streaks. Rhodes and Phillips also led the Cardinals with 11 points.

Joey Vuyancih had a career-high nine rebounds for JCU.

JCU plays its final regular season game on Saturday on the road at Marietta College at 3 p.m. before the start of the OAC Tournament next week.