Box Score Fouls threatened the outcome for the John Carroll men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the DeCarlo Varsity Center, but timely shooting from both the field and the charity stripe enabled the Blue Streaks to persevere for an 85-80 victory over Capital University.

The visiting Crusaders trailed from the 17:03 mark of the first half, but had pulled to within a single point in the final minute at 81-80.

Freshman Doug Caputo was fouled on an inbound play with 36 ticks left on the clock, and with his team's fate in the balance, calmly sank both free throws.

Capital had two looks at a game-tying shot, but the second attempt was gathered in by JCU's David Hendrickson, who iced the game away with a pair of free throws inside five seconds to play.

"It was good to see (the composure at the end of the game)," said assistant coach Frank O'Brien. "Doug being a freshman hit two (free throws) and then David. It was a struggle at the free throw line the last couple of weeks. It will help their confidence hitting those free throws down the stretch."

In a rollercoaster first half, the Blue Streaks got out to a 15-5 lead on an 11-0 streak. With the Blue Streaks making seven of their first ten shots from the field, the home team pushed its lead to 21-9 at the 14:08 mark.

Suddenly, John Carroll's offense went cold, as the Blue Streaks followed their 7-for-10 start by missing the next 11 field goals they tried.

Capital used John Carroll's drought to climb back into the game. Jared Cashen's two free throws with 8:47 left in the half cut the JCU lead to 26-20.

The Blue Streaks were able to recover and held a comfortable lead for the rest of the half, entering the locker room with an advantage on the scoreboard of 49-37.

In the first half big defense came from junior Jake Hollinger who had three blocks, four rebounds and steal. Firing away on offense was junior David Hendrickson who had 10 points and three rebounds.

Said O'Brien, "It really helps our defense when you have someone at the end to swat those shots away."

The highs and lows were much more drastic in the second half.

John Carroll held a 10-point lead just outside of 12 minutes to play when a key sequence took place. A lay-up by Jordan Murphy that would have made the score 65-53 was wiped out and a technical foul was called. Capital made both free throws, and then Curt Geise nailed a three-pointer on the subsequent possession, effectively making the series of events a seven-point swing.

The Blue Streaks had one more big surge in store, and when Danny Wallack hit a three-pointer with 8:31 to play, JCU was up by a 73-62 count.

Still, the fouls continued to mount and would have an effect on the game. Over the course of the 40-minute affair, which featured 52 fouls and 68 free throw attempts, the first major player effected was Hollinger, who finished the game with six rebounds, four blocks, and one steal. He fouled out with 4:08 to play and John Carroll nursing a 78-75 lead.

JCU made its last field goal with 3:13 remaining as Simon Kucharewicz took a pass from David Linane and dropped in a lay-up to give JCU an 80-76 lead.

Neither team would make a basket over the next two minutes and 16 seconds, with the only points coming from a pair of Drew Fecko free throws for Capital at the 3:01 mark, and a Kucharewicz free throw with 2:11 to play.

Geise would cut John Carroll's lead to 81-80 on a driving lay-up with 37 seconds on the clock, setting up Caputo's heroics.

The top scorer for John Carroll (14-7, 8-6 OAC) was Wallack with 14 points, followed by Linane with 13. Hendrickson (12) and Kucharewicz (11) also reached double figures as JCU won its third consecutive game. 

Caputo led all players with eight rebounds to go with three blocked shots.

For Capital (9-12, 6-8 OAC), Geise was the game's high scorer with 19 points, aided by a perfect 8-8 day at the free throw line. Despite shooting 13-25 (.520) from the field in the second half, the Crusaders dropped their third straight game.

John Carroll will visit Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday night, February 12, for a 7:30 p.m. tip off.