JCU’s run in the NCAA tournament ended on March 6 when a three-pointer by senior Rudy Kirbus bounced off the back iron as time expired and the Blue Streaks fell short to Guilford College for the second season in a row, suffering an 85-82 defeat. 

However, it is not the destination, but the journey that tells the character of a team.

After clinching their second consecutive regular season championship, the Blue Streaks would once again host the OAC Tournament. 

They were defeated by fifth-seeded Heidelberg University in the OAC semifinals and had a long layoff before the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Streaks were awarded an at-large bid into the national tournament and found themselves headed to Guilford College for a first round matchup with Maryville College of Tennessee. 

The sophomore class would shine in this contest as Matt Crozier, Corey Shontz and Joey Meyer would combine for 49 points en route to an 88-67 victory, giving John Carroll a chance at revenge from last year’s Sweet 16 loss against the home team Guilford College. 

Guilford came into the game as the number three team in the country, and more importantly, still featured swingman Clay Henson and 6-foot-10-inch center Tyler Sanborn, both of whom were matchup problems for Carroll last year. 

Those match-ups were a problem yet again as a three by Josh Pittman gave Guilford a 17 point lead with 15 minutes remaining.  

With a few inspirational words from head coach Mike Moran, JCU would begin a dramatic comeback as their full court pressure began to give the Quakers problems.  

A jumper by junior Maurice Haynes narrowed the deficit to just two with seven minutes remaining.  

However, two quick threes by Pittman gave the Quakers an eight point lead and it looked as if the comeback run was done.  

John Carroll would prove there was still more in the tank, as consecutive three pointers by Kirbus, Meyer and Shontz off a steal would give the Streaks a 77-74 lead with just over four minutes remaining.  

After trading several baskets, Guilford had the ball with a one point lead and one minute on the clock.  After running down the shot clock, Rhett Bonner would score on a layup to give Guilford a three point edge with 36 seconds remaining.   

A collision on a screen between Shontz and Haynes forced a turnover and Carroll was forced to foul.  

Guilford made two of their next four attempts for a five-point lead.  

A shooting foul put Rudy Kirbus on the line with six seconds remaining. After making the first, the second attempt would rim out.  

However, Haynes was able to grab the ball after jumping across the lane and put it back in, cutting the lead to 84-82. JCU quickly fouled Henson after a timeout, sending him to the line with just three seconds remaining.  After missing the first, Henson made the second, giving JCU an opportunity to tie the game with a last second three.  

Shontz grabbed the inbounds pass and flew up the court, getting into the lane before kicking back out to a trailing Kirbus whose 30 footer struck back iron as the horn sounded, ending the Blue Streaks’ hopes of a final four appearance.

“I’m just so proud of the way our guys never quit and played through everything,” said coach Moran afterwards, “It’s a tribute to everything they achieved out there this year. It’s nice to win games and go to the Final Four, but our guys played like champions and as coaches that’s all we can ask of them.  I’m proud of them.”

There certainly is a lot to be proud of, especially for the senior class. Seniors Brian Dandrea, T.J. DiSanto, Tyler Kirsch, Rudy Kirbus and Chris Zajac ended their careers as three-time regular season OAC champions, with a conference tournament championship, three NCAA tournament appearances, and two trips to the Sweet 16.  

 “It’s sad that it was the last time we got to play together on the court, but we’re going to be a team for the rest of our lives,” said Zajac, “That’s just how it is at John Carroll basketball.”

As for next year, John Carroll will certainly be one of the favorites to contend for another OAC championship. All five starters from the end of the season return, including a sophomore class that will be looking for their third OAC championship in three years.

After clinching a share of the regular season crown last Saturday against Capital, JCU had two tough remaining games to claim first place outright and, perhaps just as important, improve its regional ranking for the NCAA tournament.

On Wednesday, JCU traveled to Tiffin, Ohio, to face the Student Princes of Heidelberg University, the last team to defeat the Blue Streaks and also the team that ended John Carroll’s home win streak inside the DeCarlo Varsity Center.  

The fact that the ‘Berg had lost six games in a row did not diminish their confidence as they jumped out to a 35-22 lead on an alley-oop by Nate Davis. 

However, after that point, JCU would solve the Student Princes zone defense, closing the first half on a 21-5 run, capped by a three- pointer and a layup by senior forward Rudy Kirbus.  

After going back-and-forth for most of the second half, JCU would open it up a bit on a three-pointer from the wing by senior Tyler Kirsch, his only field goal of the game.  

The Student Princes would work their way back into the game, but could never overcome the deficit.  

Sophomore point guard Corey Shontz made all four of his free throws down the stretch, as JCU came away with a 95-91 victory that gave the Blue Streaks sole possession of the OAC regular season championship. 

 “That was our main goal at the beginning of the season,” said Kirsch of winning the conference title. “Playing postseason games at home is such a huge advantage for us.  It took a little more work to earn it this year than it did last year, but we overcame the obstacles we needed to and got what we wanted.”  

Sophomore guard Joey Meyer led five Blue Streaks who reached double figures with 15 points.  Shontz had 14, while Kirbus and sophomore center Matt Crozier had 13 apiece. Senior point guard Chris Zajac had 11.  

As a team, JCU, who leads the OAC in three-point shooting, was 15 of 29 from behind the arc.

Feb. 20 marked “Senior Day” for the Blue Streaks as they closed out the regular season against Ohio Northern University. Although first place in the conference had already been secured, not only did the seniors want to close out with a win, but also improve their chances of earning the top seed in the region, where they are currently seeded second behind Hope College. 

The Blue Streaks came out and made a statement right from the start, jumping out to a 25-8 lead.  Around that point, tempers started to flare as three technical fouls were assessed, including senior guard Brian Dandrea being ejected from the game after a tussle with Polar Bears center Scott Schnelle.  

Dandrea’s absence opened the door for senior T.J. DiSanto to fill in for his classmate.  DiSanto made the most of the opportunity by having what was easily his best game of the season, netting 13 points on three of five shooting from behind the arc.  

“It was a good feeling,” DiSanto said after the game, “I knew I was going to get a lot of minutes when Brian went out, so I just let everything come to me rather than trying to force something.”  

DiSanto was one of seven Blue Streaks to score in double figures as the Polar Bears never got back within single digits of JCU’s lead.  

Shontz, along with junior center Maurice Haynes, led the way with 16 points each. Kirbus had 14 points while Meyer and DiSanto each had 13. Crozier had 12, and junior swingman Tommy Lavelle had 10.  

Kirbus also led the way with 10 rebounds to give him a double-double for the contest. 

“If this was our last game in this gym, I’d be happy with the way we went out,” said Kirbus, “But I’m [happier] that we get to play here again.” 

This season marked the third regular season championship for the senior class.  

“It’s a big accomplishment that I’m sure we’ll appreciate [down the road],” said Zajac. “But right now we’re focusing on the other goals we set for ourselves to accomplish at the beginning of the season.” 

Editor’s Note: The journey towards defending the OAC title started last night when Marietta Colllege came to town.

Should JCU win, they will host the conference semifinal game on Friday night.

But more importantly for the Blue Streaks this past week, they were able to turn it on in time to move back into a tie at the top of the Ohio Athletic Conference standings with the Wilmington Quakers, setting up a huge matchup this Saturday.

“You could say we’re lucky to be in this position and you could say we’ve overcome a lot to get here,” said senior guard Brian Dandrea, “But all that matters is we’re here and it’s our opportunity to accomplish what we set out to do back in September.”

JCU’s wild week started this past Wednesday at home against Baldwin-Wallace College. The Yellow Jackets stung the Blue Streaks early on as they built a lead that got as high as 18 points in the first half.

JCU was out-hustled on the glass in the first 20 minutes with the Yellow Jackets winning the rebounding battle, 25-18.

A technical foul on B-W in the final minute of the half helped the Blue Streaks get a four point possession after sophomore Joey Meyer sank both free throws and sophomore Corey Shontz closed out the scoring in the first half as Coach Moran’s squad entered the intermission trailing by 11.

Luckily for the home fans, who were somewhat stunned at the deficit, the “cable company” showed up to start the second half. Led by senior point guard Chris Zajac, JCU showed why they are the defending OAC champions, forcing 14 turnovers in the second half after forcing just four miscues in the opening half.

Zajac scored 12 of his 17 in the second half while committing zero turnovers for the game. Shontz also turned in a similar second half performance, scoring 12 of his team high 18 points in the final half.

JCU used a 15-0 run to get the lead back, and they would lead the rest of the way en route to an 80-67 victory.

“There really wasn’t much to be said at halftime,” Zajac said. “We all knew we were a lot better than we showed in the first half.  We just had to get back to playing our game and controlling the tempo, and we did a good job of that in the second half.”

On Jan. 30, JCU traveled to New Concord to take on the last-place Muskies from Muskingum College who were 1-10 in league play.

A layup from sophomore Michael Hartnett at the buzzer gave JCU a 34-33 advantage going into halftime, but it would not be smooth sailing in the second half.

The Blue Streaks had a hard time getting it going and once again, dug themselves into an 11-point deficit with seven minutes remaining.

They would finally find an offensive spark, which again came from Shontz, who put on a more impressive second half performance than the one he put together against the Yellow Jackets.

The sophomore guard scored 16 of his team-high 24 points in the final seven minutes, igniting a 15-4 run to tie the game at 69 with just over three minutes remaining.

None of the 16 points were bigger than the final three. Muskingum’s Corey Bourquin hit two foul shots with four seconds left to give the Muskies an 80-77 lead.

Coming out of a timeout, Shontz pulled up from 40 feet and drilled a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. After going 0-4 from beyond the arc during the first 40 minutes, senior forward Rudy Kirbus nailed his first two attempts in the overtime to get JCU out ahead 86-81.

The Blue Streaks would then calmly knock down their free throws down the stretch and hang on for a 92-89 win.

“It’s frustrating when you don’t play well as a team, and we didn’t play well today,” said Kirbus after the game. “But more importantly, we found a way to win on the road and all that adds up at the end of the season.”

What it all added up to at this point is the biggest week of the season for John Carroll.

Editor’s Note: Details from last night’s game against Mount Union were not available for this edition.

Sophomore guard Corey Shontz

As the snow accumulated in University Heights, it seemed to slow down more than just the traffic on Cedar Road. The Blue Streaks lost four out of five games between Dec. 9 and Jan. 2, two of them coming in the OAC.  

“We weren’t playing close to the same level as we were last year,” said senior point guard Chris Zajac. “It was a big wakeup call that we still had a lot of work to do if we want to get where we want to be this year.”  

One of the disadvantages to having the same team back from the previous season is that many of the conference teams are more familiar with the makeup of the Blue Streaks.  

“Everyone is used to playing against us this year because it was the same team as last year,” said senior guard Brian Dandrea. “It makes the way we prepare for our games now that much more critical.”

JCU has recently showed signs of righting their ship. After suffering their third conference loss to Heidelberg at home on Jan. 13, the Blue Streaks went on the road the following Saturday to Ohio Northern, a team expected to contend with the Blue Streaks for the OAC championship, and handed the Polar Bears a 92-59 defeat.  

Sophomore point guard Corey Shontz led the way with team highs of 20 points and six assists. Sophomore center Matt Crozier backed up his classmate with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Zajac, and fellow senior Tyler Kirsch also reached double digits, scoring 11 points each. JCU nailed 10 of 20 from beyond the arc while keeping the Polar Bears at a frigid three of 19.  

“That was a big win for us,” Shontz  said after the game. “Hopefully we can use the momentum built today to get us back where we need to be.”  

The Blue Streaks traveled to Marietta College this past Saturday as they opened up the second half of their conference schedule.  Marietta was coming fresh off of a 17-point victory against conference leader Wilmington.  

Marietta carried that momentum into the game as JCU dug themselves an early hole and trailed by eight at the half. 

However, JCU would limit its mistakes in the second half. They turned the ball over just four times in the final 20 minutes and held Marietta guard Trevor Halter to just six points after he netted 16 in the first half. Senior forward Rudy Kirbus hit three of four from beyond the arc for a team-high 11 points. Shontz was the only other Blue Streak in double figures with 10.

“Big win on the road,” said Kirbus afterwards. “We’ve struggled a little bit this year with overcoming deficits. It was huge boost for us mentally to be able to get a win today when things weren’t really going our way.”  

More important than that individual win was the fact that it keeps JCU in a tight race for the regular season conference crown. John Carroll, along with Ohio Northern and Heidelberg, all have conference records of 7-3. Wilmington’s loss dropped them to 8-2.  

John Carroll will get a chance to avenge its early season, triple overtime loss at Wilmington on Feb. 6 when the Quakers come to the DeCarlo Varsity Center.  

“We can’t even look at that right now, as much as we might want to,” said Kirsch. “Every game is a must win.  We have to use each game to reestablish our team identity.” 

They can start doing that this Saturday when they travel to New Concord, Ohio to take on the Muskies from Muskingum College, who they defeated on Dec. 5.

So far, the biggest test on the schedule came when JCU hosted the Fighting Scots of The College of Wooster, who were ranked No. 9 in the country.

Sophomores Corey Schontz and Matt Crozier, the MVP of the Scranton Tournament, got JCU off to a solid start with Crozier scoring the first nine points, all on assists from Schontz.

The game went back and forth before JCU found an extra gear to close the game on an 11-3 run to secure a 71-63 victory.

JCU overcame their worst shooting performance of the season, going just four of 12 from behind the arc and hitting 11-22 from the free throw line.

“It was a defensive battle,” said head coach Mike Moran. “Our guys had to go out and find a way to win and get the job done.”

The Blue Streaks found that way with defense. JCU forced 26 turnovers while turning it over 10 times  themselves. Zajac and Schontz combined for nine of the 17 steals.

Crozier finished the game with team highs of 18 points and ten rebounds.  Schontz posted 11 points to go along with his seven assists.

JCU carried their momentum right into the beginning of their Ohio Athletic Conference schedule as they drove across the Cuyahoga River to face rival Baldwin–Wallace College.

JCU made up for its previous shooting performance by making 25 of its first 37 shots.

The Blue Streaks took a 15 point lead into the halftime and the Yellow Jackets never had a stinging chance.  The lead got as big as 34 at one point before JCU coasted to a 96-73 victory.

Corey Schontz led the offense with 17 points and was one of four Blue Streaks who posted double figures for the contest. Senior All-American Rudy Kirbus had 15 points, while juniors Mo Haynes and Tommy Lavelle netted 13 and 10, respectively.

The Blue Streaks hosted the Fighting Muskies of Muskingum this past Saturday to cap off the week. JCU, the pre-season pick to win the conference, edged the Muskies, pegged for last, 76-66.

After starting the game on a 20-8 run, JCU started to get a little careless on both ends of the court.  They posted their lowest three-point shooting percentage of the season, going eight of 31 for the game.

Corey Schontz once again led the offense with 17 points and seven assists. Kirbus was the only other Blue Streak in double figures with 13 points.

The Blue Streaks held a 70-46 lead with four minutes left in the game, so the final score appears to be a bit deceiving.

“You always take a win,” said Moran. “It’s a long season and you’re going to have games where the energy level is down and guys don’t have their best game. But when the games happen you have to use that as motivation in practice to get better for the next game.”

That message got through to his players.

“We have to keep working every day and every game,” said Haynes. “We have to do the work now so we’re not trying to make up for it in March.”

Editor’s Note: Results from last night’s game against Mount Union were unavailable for this edition.

The John Carroll University men’s basketball team survived its regular season opener Saturday in Michigan, defeating Olivet College 90-83.

Sophomore point guard Corey Shontz cured any worries of a second year slump, scoring a career-high 28 points, including 6-7 from behind the arc.

“He carried us offensively,” said senior guard Brian Dandrea. “We’re still working to get back to where we were last year offensively, so when one guy gets a hot hand like that, it’s a big boost for us.”

What Shontz accomplished on the outside, junior Mo Haynes and sophomore Matt Crozier took care of on the inside.

The two big men combined for 19 points and 16 rebounds.  Pre-season first team All-American Rudy Kirbus also recorded 12 points, making 8-11 from the free-throw line, as did sophomore Joey Meyer.

As a team, the Blue Streaks shot 61 percent from three-point land, making 11 of 18, while holding to the Comets to just 4-21 from behind the arc.

“We just continued to play throughout the whole game.  Whether our shots go in or not, we know we can win the game in other areas just by playing hard and keep attacking,” said senior swingman Tyler Kirsch.

The Blue Streaks, ranked second nationally, will travel to Pennsylvania this weekend for the Scranton Tournament.

After taking a quick break for some Thanksgiving turkey, they will host a big matchup on Nov. 29 with The College of Wooster, ranked ninth nationally.

Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Women

The John Carroll University women’s basketball team won a close game to open their season, defeating The College of Wooster, 85-82.

It took a total team effort to pull out the victory on the road. Four Blue Streaks scored in double figures. Wooster was led by 35 points from All-American Kym Wynz.

Junior Lee Jennings, a two-time All-OAC selection, led JCU with 25 points. She also tallied eight rebounds and five assists.

Senior Caitlin Sureck picked up right where she left off and recorded a 19 point, ten rebound double-double.

Senior Kate Mahoney, who sat out last season, scored 18 points in her return to the hardwood. Junior guard Sadie Zander chipped in a career-high 14 points.

The Blue Streaks will be in Pittsburgh, Pa. this weekend to participate in the University Athletic Association/Ohio Athletic Conference showdown, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.

None of these things were a factor last season for the John Carroll University men’s basketball team.  That team made it to the Sweet 16 and set a school record of 21 straight wins. 

Now it’s time for the defending Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions to start a new streak.

They enter the season ranked second nationally, the highest ranking in school history, behind only the defending national champs, Washington University (St. Louis). 

“We have a bullseye on our back,” said senior forward Rudy Kirbus, who is a d3hoops.com first-team preseason All-American.

That wasn’t the case last year when JCU was picked to finish fourth in the conference. 

“Last year we came in under the radar, but now everyone has us circled on their schedules. Even though we’re starting at the top, it’s going to be a long uphill battle,” said Kirbus. 

Expectations are especially high after losing only Alex Koltsov to graduation. The Blue Streaks return everyone from last year’s team, including all five starters, along with the addition of several freshmen. 

JCU welcomes back swingman T.J. DiSanto, who spent last season studying in Italy. He saw sufficient playing time as a freshman and sophomore and adds another perimeter defender as well as another spot up shooter.

Kirbus leads a balanced scoring attack that saw five players average eight points a game or better last season, including seven different leading scorers. 

“We just go out and play our game and whoever ends up with the points isn’t really important to us, as long as it’s under JCU on the scoreboard,” said senior swingman Tyler Kirsch. 

“We have ten guys that can score 20 points a game, but we’re not going to score 200 points a night,  so it’s just a matter of working to find the best shot each time down the court.”

It helps that JCU has arguably the best point guard combination in the OAC with senior Chris Zajac and sophomore Corey Shontz. 

The duo combined for 17 points and over five assists per game last season. 

Shontz led the conference in three-point percentage, making 48.4 percent.  Zajac led the OAC in steals, recording 3.3 a game.

Both guards’ quickness created many turnovers in the press last season that was the main contributor to several crucial wins en route to the OAC championship.

“Our press was really our backbone in every big game last year,” said senior guard Brian Dandrea.  “In most cases it got us going on both sides of the court and took away the other teams strengths.” 

JCU will need to be able to rely on its press right out of the gate as they have a few tests even before the calendar turns to December.

JCU will travel to Michigan over the weekend to take on Olivet College, before heading to Scranton, Pa. the following weekend for the Scranton tournament. 

Perhaps the biggest game on the 2009 part of the schedule is on Nov. 29 when JCU hosts The College of Wooster, ranked ninth in the country.

The Wooster game is also the home opener for the Blue Streaks.  The game will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. and could be a preview of an NCAA Tournament game.

Just as JCU will rely on the three-point shooting and full court press that worked for them last year, they will also be taking some old philosophy with them as they head into this season.

 “Last season is over,” head coach Mike Moran always tells his players.

 “We have to take our work ethic to above where our expectations are.  It’s time to get the job done.”