A 26-4 run to start the second half led to a John Carroll revival Wednesday night in University Heights, helping the Blue Streaks spirit away a recent downspell with an 88-64 victory over Otterbein College.
Box Score
Both teams were ice cold in the early going, with a Corey Shontz three-pointer accounting for the only field goal in the first four minutes for either team. Otterbein did not sink a shot from the floor until the 15:09 mark when Chris Davis muscled in a lay-up through a foul.
The Blue Streaks would build a 15-6 lead through the first ten minutes, only to have Otterbein tie the score at 24-24 on a Brian Pollock free throw at the 3:53 mark.
Otterbein would again tie the contest at 26-26, but the Blue Streaks used a 7-2 finishing kick -- capped by a Matt Crozier lay-up at the buzzer -- to take a 33-28 lead into the break.
Over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second period, John Carroll would break the contest wide open. Joey Meyer's three-pointer with 14:34 left on the clock capped a 13-0 burst that staked the host squad a 46-28 advantage.
The Cardinals would score the next four points, only to have the Blue Streaks score the next 13 to ice the game away.
John Carroll (8-4, 4-2 OAC), which had dropped four of its previous five games, shot 15-31 (.484) from the field and 5-11 (.455) from three-point range in the decisive second half.
Kirbus led the Streaks with 15 points, while Shontz added 14, Meyer chipped in 12 and Brian Dandrea contributed ten to the JCU cause.
Otterbein (3-10, 1-5 OAC), which had its two-game winning streak snapped, was led by a game-high 16 points from Nathan Edick. Pollock -- the reigning OAC player of the Week -- added 15 as Otterbein suffered 24 turnovers.