Apparently a change in venue does very little to take the spirit out of the John Carroll-Capital rivalry.
In a rematch of the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference tournament championship staged at the University of Dayton Arena, the Blue Streaks scored 12 of the final 15 points in overtime to emerge with a 99-93 victory.
Box Score
Adding another chapter to what is fast becoming one of the best rivalries in the OAC (the two teams also squared off in the 2007 OAC championship game), Capital used the momentum of forcing overtime to score the opening three points of the extra period while holding John Carroll scoreless over the opening 100 seconds.
Trailing 90-87, John Carroll would break its drought on a game-tying three-pointer by Joey Meyer. The Crusaders would miss their next two shots, and both times, the Streaks would answer at the other end.
Tyler Kirsch gave JCU the lead for good, and Corey Shontz put his team ahead by four with 2:07 to play.
Capital would halt JCU's 7-0 run by splitting a pair of free throws, but JCU scored the next four on a Shontz jumper and a pair of free throws by Tommy Lavelle who was fouled after pulling down an offensive rebound. Lavelle's tosses gave John Carroll a 98-91 lead with 49 seconds.
Although Capital lost seven seniors from the team that reached the OAC title game last season, John Carroll had to go a full 45 minutes to hold off the Crusaders.
Capital began the game by scoring seven of the first nine points, but the Blue Streaks answered with a 14-2 run.
With just under ten minutes left in the opening half, a Scott Robertson lay-up pulled the Crusaders within three points at 22-19, but John Carroll began to put some distance between the two teams with a 24-10 run. Rudy Kirbus drained a three-pointer to give JCU a 46-29 lead with 3:54 showing on the clock.
The Crusaders actually began their comeback late in the first half, using a 7-1 run to cut John Carroll's lead to 47-36 at the break, then scoring nine of the first 11 points of the second half to parry the JCU advantage to 49-45.
John Carroll briefly pushed the lead back to double figures on a pair of Matt Crozier free throws that made the score 55-45 with 16:01 left, but the Crusaders would chip away and catch John Carroll at 67-67 when Tyler Munro buried a three-pointer with 9:11 left in regulation.
Capital would take its first lead of the half on Spencer Niekamp's jumper at the 2:47 mark, only to have Corey Shontz answer back ten seconds later for John Carroll. The advantage would change hands four more times down the stretch, with John Carroll forging ahead 87-85 on a Crozier lay-up with five seconds left. But Adam Johns forced overtime with a lay-up at the buzzer.
John Carroll (9-4, 5-2 OAC) was led by 20 points from both Kirbus and Shontz, while Meyer and Crozier (who had a team-high ten rebounds) added 15 points apiece.
Aiding the cause for the Blue Streaks was a strong effort at the free throw line (24-30, .800) and committing just nine turnovers in 45 minutes of play.
Capital (7-6, 2-4 OAC) was paced by double-doubles from DJ Frazier (19 points and 12 rebounds) and Robertson (17 points and ten rebounds). Johns added 15 points and Ben McGrath chipped in 11 as the Crusaders had a six-game winning streak snapped.
