Payback sure is sweet.
This past week, the John Carroll University men’s basketball team avenged two losses from earlier in the Ohio Athletic Conference season, defeating both Mount Union College and Wilmington College.
With the wins, JCU improved to 11-3 in the OAC and moved into sole possession of first place, one game ahead of the Wilmington Quakers in the loss column.
Mount Union may have edged out the Blue Streaks by five points back on Dec. 9, but this time around there was no doubt about who was the better team.
They proved that from the start as they jumped out to a 25-5 lead early into the ballgame and never looked back on their way to a 96-67 victory.
Coach Mike Moran, using his full allotment of players, applied pressure for all 40 minutes that clearly bothered the Purple Raiders, causing them to commit 18 turnovers.
Offensively, five Blue Streaks were in double-figures, led by senior Rudy Kirbus who chipped in 18 points.
After shooting under 32 percent in the first meeting, JCU shot over 54 percent from the field this time around.
Sophomores Matt Crozier, Joey Meyer and Corey Shontz all scored in double-figures, combining to shoot 15 of 20 on the night.
That win set up a pivotal Saturday afternoon showdown on Feb. 6, with Wilmington College. The two teams played a triple-overtime thriller back on Dec. 12, with the host Quakers pulling it out, 107-105.
Both teams entered the second meeting 10-3 in conference play, meaning the winner would have outright possession of first place and control their own destiny in terms of hosting the postseason tournament at the end of the regular season.
Hosting the conference tournament benefitted the Blue Streaks heavily last year as they took home the conference crown – and after Saturday, the road to the NCAA Tournament runs through University Heights.
In the early going, it looked like JCU would cruise to victory. The Blue Streaks led by nine points at halftime, and seemed to be well on their way to victory.
However, Wilmington showed why they were tied for first place entering the contest, scratching and clawing all the way back to make it a one-point game with less than one minute to go.
The Blue Streaks took their time and patiently waited for a good, open shot.
They had one when sophomore guard Michael Hartnett got a good look from behind the three-point arc, but couldn’t knock it down.
Kirbus, however, was in the right place at the right time and got the offensive rebound.
The Blue Streaks reset and ran some more clock, and went right back to Hartnett.
This time, the sophomore guard knocked down a huge three-pointer from the corner and gave JCU a four-point lead with 18 seconds to go.
After one defensive stop, JCU escaped and took over first place in the conference.
The Blue Streaks have three games left on the regular season schedule, two of which will be at home, this Saturday against Capital University and the following Saturday when Ohio Northern University comes to town.
Sandwiched between those Saturday games is a Wednesday night affair with Heidelberg University when JCU will try to avenge their other OAC loss of the season.
