After a long road trip to start the season, John Carroll men's basketball returned home with a long-winning streak against an OAC opponent on the line.

The winning streak over Heidelberg continued for head coach Mike Moran and his JCU Blue Streaks on Wednesday evening. 

The Blue Streaks knocked off visiting Heidelberg by a score of 82-63 inside the packed Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. The home opener and first OAC contest was headlined by Doug Caputo's double-double performance (16 points and 11 rebounds) and David Linane's 18 points and four assists.

This was John Carroll's 12th consecutive win opver Heidelberg -- its longest in the history of the series.

The competitiveness and talent of both programs was evident right from the opening tip-off as the Blue Streak offense (103.2 points per game, ranked first in the OAC) clashed against the Ohio Northern defense (68.2 points allowed per game, first in the OAC). Neither team could hold a lead larger than seven points in the first ten minutes.

The back and forth affair was deadlocked at 18 until Simon Kucharewicz scored a layup to give JCU a two-point lead with nine minutes to play in the half.

Later in the quarter, Linane assisted Danny Wallack on a transition layup to give the Blue Streaks a 33-25 lead. Caputo joined in on the action the next possession with another basket to extend the lead to 10, the largest of the half. 

Heading into the intermission, the Blue and Gold held a 38-30 advantage.

Linane kick started the Blue and Gold offense with an open three-pointer on the second half's first possession. Kucharewicz continued his hard work in the paint by earning and converting a pair of free throw shots that extended the Blue Streak lead to 13.

The JCU lead continued to grow as the second half progressed when Kucharewicz made a highlight reel dunk off another Linane assist. The senior center out of Brook Park, Ohio finished the night with 11 points and five rebounds.

The dominant offensive play continued to shine as the nation's fourth-ranked offense converted inside and out of the paint. Sophomore Tony Vuyancih was the fourth Blue Streak scorer to register a double-digit scoring total as he concluded the evening with 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Leading the way for the Student Princes was reigning OAC Freshman of the Year Kiere Bennie, who notched 18 points and eight rebounds.

Up next for the Blue Streaks is a Saturday road trip to Ada, Ohio against Ohio Northern University. The game marks the first away OAC contest of 2015-16 and is slated for a 3 pm start.