Tournament games frequently prove to be nail-biters. Thursday's OAC semifinal game did not disappoint.
 
Junior Will Starks buried a deep 3-pointer over Mount Union's Jarrett Ruffin as time expired sending the game into overtime. The trifecta capped a 9-2 rally over the final 1:44.
 
Mount Union would hang on in overtime to take the 89-88 win in front of a near-capacity crowd inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
 
David Linane was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. The sophomore calmly sank all three free throws making it a 75-74 Mount Union lead.
 
Starks' first attempt to tie the game was off the mark. Jake Hollinger came up with a key steal giving the Blue Streaks a second chance. The senior was able to call timeout in time before falling out of bounds.
 
The extra stanza featured four ties and four lead changes. John Carroll had a chance to win it having 1.9 seconds to go the length of the floor. Starks was unable to get a shot off.
 
Linane's 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining in overtime put JCU ahead 84-83. It would be the Blue Streaks' last lead. Two free throws from Hollinger and likewise from Doug Caputo tied the score at 86 and 88.
 
John Carroll started the game on fire. Linane scored the Blue and Gold's first five points to spark an 11-2 JCU opening run. Junior Danny Wallack and senior David Hendrickson capped the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
 
Mount Union answered right back with an 11-0 run. A trifecta from Kyle Scelza briefly put the Purple Raiders up 13-11 with 13:52 remaining in the half.
 
John Carroll took the lead right back with a 7-0 run from Linane and Hollinger. The stretch put the Blue and Gold up 18-13. Scelza quickly cut the Blue Streaks' lead back to two, the closest the Purple Raiders would come for the rest of the half.
 
Wallack pushed JCU's advantage back to 10 on a 3-pointer. The field goal made it a 29-19 JCU advantage with 6:07 left in the half.
 
Key to John Carroll's first half success was its protection of the rim. Hollinger and Caputo combined for five blocks in the first half. The Purple Raiders were held to 32.3 percent shooting from the field.
 
Mount Union's shooters heated up to start the second half with four of the first five Purple Raider field goals of the half coming from deep. Scelza added a layup with 14:24 remaining in the second half which cut John Carroll's lead to 49-47.
 
John Carroll pushed its lead back to eight on Starks' 3-pointer with 10:53 left. The make marked the junior's first trifecta of the night and gave JCU the 59-51 advantage.
 
The Purple Raiders took the lead back at 65-63 with 5:00 remaining in the game on Evan Keeslar's layup. It was Mount Union's first lead since the opening moments of the game.
 
Linane led the Blue Streaks with his first career double-double. The sophomore finished with 17 points and 10 assists. Hollinger led all scorers with 18 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
 
Mount Union improved to 21-6 while John Carroll fell to 20-6. The Blue Streaks will await whether their season will continue with an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The field is revealed at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 2.