Mike Moran's Blue Streaks typically win games by posting high point totals thanks to a fast-paced offensive attack. In today's contest against Capital University, however, stout defense in the waning minutes made the difference in JCU's 65-63 win.

While the Crusaders (5-16, 3-11) entered the game as ninth place team in the Ohio Athletic Conference, the visitors fought tooth and nail for the full 60 minutes, holding JCU to its lowest scoring output of the season. But at the end of the day, the Blue Streaks (15-5, 11-3) earned the victory and remained undefeated (7-0) in the friendly confines of the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

David Linane posted one of his best all-around games of the season to guide the squad to victory. The sophomore netted 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

"The coaches always tell us that it starts on the defensive side," Linane said. "I gave myself more confidence on the defensive side today, and once you do that, the offense goes right into rhythm with it."

Points came at a premium from the very beginning, as JCU and Capital mustered only five points apiece in the first five minutes of the contest.

Capital snatched the lead with an Adam Blake 3-pointer two minutes later, holding a narrow advantage until a Linane steal led to a David Hendrickson breakaway layup. Doug Caputo capitalized on another breakaway a minute later, slamming home a dunk with two hands to awaken the JCU faithful. Capital head coach Damon Goodwin then took a timeout at the 10:50 mark with the Blue Streaks leading 15-12.  

The Blue and Gold didn't lose any momentum coming out of the timeout, as Danny Wallack drained a trey a minute later to up JCU's lead to 20-14. Neither team scored for the next two minutes until Tony Vuyancih buried a 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:30 remaining.

Capital then responded with a quick 5-0 run to narrow the deficit to 23-19. The teams exchanged buckets before Capital retook the lead with a Daniel Ocke 3-pointer and an AJ Dixon layup at the 2:35 mark. The Blue Streaks quickly snatched the lead back thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Caputo and Wallack.

In the final minute of the period, Ben Danhoff sank two straight layups for the Crusaders to knot the score at 30. In the final possession of the half, Hendrickson hit a shot from the free throw line at the buzzer, granting the Blue Streaks the lead, 32-30, heading into the break.

The teams traded points to begin the second half, as JCU's fast pace gradually began to catch up with the Crusaders. The hard-charging Blue Streaks upped the lead to five following a Will Starks layup at the four minute mark.

Dixon hit Capital's first 3-pointer of the half with 14:07 to play, but JCU quickly answered with four points from Hollinger and Linane in 13 seconds. The Crusaders, trailing 48-41, burned a full timeout to regroup.

Linane burned the Crusaders again on Capital's first possession following the brief break, grabbing a steal and taking it to the bucket before the visitors could blink. On Capital's next possession, Charles English stopped JCU's run with a trey.

The Blue and Gold issued a rapid response on their next possession. After Starks drove to the block and passed it back out, the Blue Streaks passed the ball all the way around the horn back to Starks, who buried a 3-pointer to make the score 53-46. The Crusaders opted to take a timeout a short time later, as JCU held a 55-47 lead with 8:37 remaining.

Capital then used a 6-2 run to narrow the lead to four with 5:44 to play. Following a pair of missed JCU free throws, the Crusaders spent a timeout to set the strategy for the remainder of the game.

Coming out of the brief break, Andrew Bolka banked in a layup to bring Capital within two with five minutes left. Then, Linane began to take over. The sophomore hit a deep two with 3:47 left, and the Crusaders replied under a minute later with a 3-pointer, as Ocke sank a shot from the left wing to cut the deficit to one. Linane again provided unstoppable on Capital's next possessions, drawing two shots from the charity stripe following a steal and a hard charge to the basket. He made both, extending JCU's lead to 61-58.

The Crusaders made a big mistake on the ensuing possession, turning the ball over on a traveling call with 1:01 left to play as the DeCarlo Center erupted. Capital quickly fouled Hollinger after the inbound, and the senior connected on one of two shots. Streaking quickly up the court, the Crusaders tried a three but missed, forcing them to foul Starks. The junior hit one of two to up the lead to five.

On Capital's ensuing possession, Ocke came open on the right wing, draining his fourth trey of the game to cut the deficit to two, 63-61. After another Capital foul, Wallack connected on one of his two tries from the charity stripe. The Crusaders replied with a quick layup, bringing the score to 64-63 with 13 seconds left. Capital fouled Wallack again, and the senior sank one of two attempts.

The Crusaders got the ball back with 10 seconds left and a chance to win the game on the final possession. As time expired, Tyrel Jackson lofted a deep 3-pointer from the right wing. The ball kissed the left side of the rim but did not touch the netting, allowing JCU to emerge with a 65-63 win.

Bolka led the Crusaders with 16 points and 18 rebounds, while Ocke and English each recorded 13 for the Crusaders. Caputo finished with 13 points for the Blue and Gold, shooting 7-of-10 from the field.

The Blue Streaks play next on Wednesday, as Baldwin Wallace will play host to JCU in a 7:30 p.m. contest.