The third time proved to be the charm.

It was a packed house in Ban Johnson arena for a heavily anticipated matchup between the Marietta Pioneers and the John Carroll Blue Streaks. These two teams had met twice previously this season with Marietta winning both matchups by a combined margin of 23 points.

This time around, the Blue and Gold defeated the Pioneers 82-79 to advance to the semifinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.

"We couldn't be prouder of our guys ... It's a real tribute to John Carroll basketball," said JCU assistant coach Frank O'Brien.

Marietta was one of three teams to win a share of the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship, marking the fifth straight season the Pioneers had accomplished the feat. But by virtue of the tiebreaker, Marietta drew the #3 seed, and were the only regular season champ eliminated in the quarterfinal round.

The #3 seed had the misfortune to draw the #6 six seed -- a Blue Streak team that was coming in to town on a three-game winning roll.

Make it four.

John Carroll came out clicking on offense early, getting out to a 18-9 lead following a Sean Flannery three ball at the 12:36 mark. John Carroll opened making three of their first four three pointers.

With six minutes left in the first half, the momentum took a complete shift. John Carroll wouldn't hit another field goal for the remainder of the half and would watch its 10-point lead evaporate into a two-point deficit. Following behind the efficient shooting of Keith Richardson and Anthony Wallace, the Pioneers would take a 41-39 lead into the half.

Ryan Berger would be the bright spot for JCU in the first half by accumulating 11 points and seven rebounds on four of nine shooting.

The second half would open up with Marietta continuing its hot streak through the first five minutes. The Pioneers would stretch their lead to eight points (56-48) -- its largest of the night -- following Richardson three pointer followed by a Kyle Dixon transition layup.

Just when it seemed the hosts were ready to run away with the contest, the Blue Streaks would respond. A three ball by Jackson Sartain at the 14:54 mark, ignited a 12-5 run that pulled the Blue Streaks to within a single points at 61-60. The Pioneers briefly flexed back out to a six-point lead, but the Blue Streaks responded again, this time using a 10-0 run to take back the lead.  A Jimmy Berger jumper with 5:31 left put the visitors ahead, 70-66.

The score would go back-and-forth the rest of the way.

With 44 seconds left in the game, the Blue Streaks trailed 77-74 until a Ryan Berger contested three pointer went down right in front of the John Carroll bench. After a Marietta timeout, Anthony Wallace hit a turnaround jumper over the contested arm of Jimmy Berger to make the score 79-77.

Following a JCU timeout, junior Ryan Berger sunk yet another three ball, this time from the top of the arc. JCU took an 80-79 lead with 10 seconds left.

After the home team called a time out, Keith Richardson flew down the lane with a head of steam. But Richardson may have been too bullish in his drive, as he steamrolled the Blue Streaks' Connor Fitzgerald and was whistled for an offensive foul.

After a pair of free throws from Sean Flannery, the Blue Streaks would hold on to win.

Ryan Berger finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Jimmy Berger and Luke Hippler both finished with 14 points. Sean Flannery led all players with 37 minutes played.

"I hit an in-stride pull-up jumper and knew every shot from there on was going in," said Ryan Berger after the game. "Credit to my teammates for getting me the ball in positions where I could make plays. It was just one of those games where my shots weren't falling early, but as I continued to shoot, I got in a rhythm and the rest was history. It feels so good to win at Marietta in one of the best atmospheres. I love my teammates, my coaches, and this University. I had to put on a performance for them."

Anthony Wallace and Keith Richardson both added 20 points for Marietta. Caleb Hoyng finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.

With the win the Blue Streaks improve to 13-13 overall (8-10 OAC). John Carroll has now defeated the top four teams in the OAC conference this season; Marietta, Wilmington, Capital, and Mount Union.

The Blue Streaks will next travel to Alliance, Ohio to take on the Mount Union Purple Raiders on Thursday, February 19th. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the MAAC (McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex).