As the second half of the season got underway in the Ohio Athletic Conference, little room for error existed among the leaders of the pack.
John Carroll found out exactly how little room that was Saturday afternoon, rallying from ten points down late in the first half to post a 70-68 road win at Marietta.
Box Score
Three games separated first place from eighth at the beginning of the day, which was why John Carroll's come-from-behind road was necessary to help keep pace.
After a quick start to the game in which they scored seven of the first eleven points, the Blue Streaks would find themselves in a dog fight soon after. JCU led 21-20 with 7:40 left to play in the half, but Marietta would storm to a 43-33 lead over the next seven minutes. Trevor Halter accounted for nine of those points for the Pioneers during that stretch.
Down 43-35 at the start of the second half, the JCU defense began to asset itself. By limiting Marietta to six points over the first eight minutes, the Blue Streaks turned an eight-point deficit into a 53-49 lead. Tommy Lavelle scored six points as part of that 18-6 run.
The game was tied at 55-55 and again at 58-58 before JCU would take the lead for good. A Chris Zajac lay-up at the 6:56 mark would put the Blue Streaks ahead, 60-58.
Despite grabbing the advantage, John Carroll never led by more than five points the rest of the way.
In fact, Marietta missed all four of its shots down the stretch that could have either tied the game or given the Pioneers the lead. The most damaging may have been a missed free throw -- after making the first -- with 2:16 remaining and John Carroll clinging to a 66-65 lead.
Entering the final minute, John Carroll held a 68-67 lead and possession. Zajac again tried a lay-up but missed. Matt Crozier, however, came up with the game's biggest offensive rebound. Given a second chance, Brian Dandrea canned a jumper to give the Streaks a more comfortable 70-67 cushion.
Fouling rather than allowing a three-point shot to be hoisted, John Carroll put Joe puch on the line with four seconds left. After making the first, he intentionally missed the second, but Rudy Kirbus got to the ball first and secured it to put the wraps on the win.
John Carroll (11-5, 7-3 OAC), which had 12 different players score at least two points, was paced by 11 point sfrom Kirbus and ten from Corey Shontz. Although not a particularly good shooting day for the Blue Streaks (23-60, .383), JCU held the Pioneers to just seven second half field goals.
Marietta (8-9, 4-6 OAC) received 22 points from Halter and 16 points and a game high 13 rebounds from Kevin Knab.