In the first game for John Carroll University men's basketball team since classes resumed, the Blue Streaks put on a defensive display.

John Carroll (10-5, 7-2 OAC) defeated crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace University (8-8, 3-6 OAC), 77-62, on Wednesday night in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

JCU's defense dominated the affair as they held BW to just 62 points, the second fewest of any other opponent this season.

Simon Kucharewicz led all scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds. David Linane and Doug Caputo added 14 and 12, respectively.

Kucharewicz put the Blue Streaks on the board first in the opening seconds of the game. However, the Yellow Jackets were quick to match the points.

John Carroll held a lead for the first six minutes of the game. The rivals exchanged buckets back and forth until Baldwin Wallace went on a 16-5 run with 11:30 remaining in the half. A Zack Brandy three-pointer started the push for the Yellow Jackets to capture the lead. Brandy went three-for-three from behind the three point line in the first half. With 7:05 on the clock, BW was winning 29-18, which would mark the largest lead of the game.

The Blue Streaks managed to cut their opponent's lead to seven heading into the second half. As time ran out in the opening half, the scoreboard read 40-33 in favor of the Yellow Jackets.

At the half, Brandy led all scorers with 13 points.

John Carroll came out strong in the second half. They held Baldwin Wallace to only five points in the first five minutes of the half, while they put up 12. To cap off the run, Brian Papich came up big with a steal and fed Kucharewicz for a dunk to tie the game up at 48.

Shortly after, John Cirillo stole the ball and drove down court for a layup to take the lead, 50-48.

As the shot clock was winding down for the Yellow Jackets, Kyle Nader got off a three pointer to regain the lead, 53-52. However, on JCU's next possession, Papich drove to into traffic to add two points and put the Blue Streaks back on top.

With 7:15 on the clock, Cirillo picked off Baldwin Wallace's inbound pass and located Matt Csuhran under the basket for a layup. The easy bucket extended JCU's lead to six heading into the home stretch of the contest.

In the final five minutes of the game, the Blue Streaks went on a 12-2 run to secure the win over the Yellow Jackets. David Linane contributed six points during the run.

JCU scored 18 points off of BW's 12 turnovers and had 14 second-chance points. The Blue Streaks grabbed 50 rebounds, while the Yellow Jackets only had 31. Throughout the course of the game, there were four lead changes and six ties.

The Blue Streaks will take on Marietta College on the road this Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.