Thursday's matchup was one of the most anticipated rubber matches of the OAC tournament.

The two teams split the regular season series by defending their home court. Mount Union won on December 5th in convincing fashion, 95-74, while John Carroll returned the favor with a 82-69 victory on January 23rd in University Heights.

For John Carroll the magic number was 70. Mount Union was 0-5 entering the night when scoring fewer than 70 points. Early on it appeared that John Carroll was up for the task.

The game began with both teams trading blows. There were nine lead changes in the first 7:50 of the game.

Then, the Purple Raiders settled in and found their groove. Mount Union would erupt from 3 point range hitting 10-18 from 3 point range (55.6%) in the first half. Finishing the half on a 37-18 run in the final 12:50 behind 13 points from Collen Gurley, the host squad would take a 57-36 lead into the half.

Jackson Sartain was the  lone bright spot for the Blue Streaks putting up 11 first half points.

John Carroll would heat up to start the second half hitting seven of their first 13 shots. However, they could not stop the Purple Raiders hot offense. Mount Union would mirror John Carroll's offensive efficiency by draining 7-13 field goals themselves in the first 7:08. Mount Union maintained their lead 73-58 with 11:52 left.

But the Blue Streaks would not quit. Behind the hot hands of Sean Flannery and Jackson Sartain,  John Carroll would mount a furious comeback, and pulled to within four points at 84-80 with 3:26 remaining in the game.

After a timeout by Mount Union, Andrew Francesconi drilled a three-pointer to give the Purple Raiders some cushion. John Carroll would respond with a Jimmy Berger layup to leave the score at 87-82 at the 2:45 mark.

As was the trend for the Blue Streaks the whole night, for every run the Purple and Black had an answer. John Carroll would not score a field goal the remainder of the game, while Mount Union finished the remaining 2:45 on a 7-2 run. John Carroll's final two points would come off Sean Flannery free throws with 0:42 seconds remaining.

Jackson Sartain finished with 26 points and draining six 3 pointers. Sean Flannery finished with 18 points and dished out six assists. Luke Hippler added 15 points.

For Mount Union Nathan Bower-Malone, Gurley, and Tommy Stenger all finished with at least 15 points. Bower Malone finished with a game-high seven assists as well.

John Carroll ended the season with an overall record of 13-14.

Mount Union, the #2 seed, will advance to play in and host the OAC championship with a record of 21-5, and still has not lost a home game this season. They will face #5 seed Baldwin Wallace on Saturday, February 23 at 7:00 PM.