John Carroll may savor this one.

On a mild December Saturday afternoon, the John Carroll Blue Streaks traveled out to northwest Ohio and earned a hard fought 80-74 victory over the Ohio Northern Polar Bears.

The Blue Streaks moved to 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and improved their overall record to 5-3.  The Polar Bears fell to 0-4 in the conference for the first time since the 1991-92 season, and 3-6 across all matchups.
 
Today's win marked the first time John Carroll has won regular season games in back-to-back seasons in Ada, Ohio. JCU defeated Ohio Northern, 90-80, in Ada last year (2/10/18) .

The only other consecutive wins JCU has posted against the Polar Bears in the ONU Sports Center were an NCAA tournament game in 1999 and the regular season battle the following year (1/15/2000).

The Blue Streaks opened the game in John Carroll fashion, dropping in three pointers on four of their first six shots and creating turnovers through their stifling full court press.  Within the first five minutes, John Carroll doubled up Ohio Northern, 18-9.

The Polar Bears would not break down that easily however.  They continued to work into the paint, garnering 27 of their first half points down in the block.  ONU managed to stay within range of the Blue Streaks, hitting a last second shot at the end of the first half to close to within four points at 39-35.  

John Carroll committed only one turnover in the first half and dominated in fast break points, 15-0.

The Blue Streaks had only trailed briefly in the first half (2-0 and 4-3), and never trailed in the second half, but Ohio Northern did tie up the score twice at 45-45, and then again at 47-47 with 12:47 to play.

Nonetheless, the Blue Streaks would never concede the lead.  A series of short runs featuring three-point shooting from Connor Fitzgerald, Jackson Sartain, Corbin Anthony, and Luke Hippler paired with tough defense and grit from Sean Flannery and Ben Merril helped the Blue Streaks stride away from danger.  A 29-12 burst midway through the half pushed John Carroll's lead to 79-56 with 3:28 remaining.

Ohio Northern had one last burst, starting with a 7-0 run that quickly cut the JCU lead to ten points with just over two minutes to play. But John Carroll held on down the stretch for the win.

The Blue Streaks were paced by five players in double figures, with Sartain leading the pack with a game-high 18 points. Berger added 16, while Anthony, Flannery and Greg Parella each chipped in ten points. Berger also had a team-high eight rebounds and five steals, while Flannery tallied nine assists.

ONU got a career-high 18 points from Austin Allemeier and 17 from All-American Ryan Bruns, but were forced into 19 turnovers that offset a 31-64 (.484) shooting effort.

This Tuesday, the Blue Streaks will be back in action, hosting the Otterbein Cardinals (2-7, 0-4 OAC) in University Heights at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.