There have been a number of close calls in the history of the series between John Carroll and Heidelberg. Illustrating that point is how each of the last six games had been decided by 12 points or less.
Wednesday night at the DeCarlo Varsity Center marked one of those rare exceptions
The largest margin of victory by a John Carroll team in 61 prior meetings with the Student Princes was 27 points back in 2004. The Blue Streaks came within one point of matching that mark with a 94-68 triumph.
Early struggles by both teams had Heidelberg in the lead at 10-8 with just over six and a half minutes gone. But free throws by senior Michael Hartnett and a lay-up by fellow senior Corey Shontz sparked a 24-5 run over the next seven minutes by the home team.
"With the big win against Marietta, this week at practice the seniors and the coaches made sure we had enough energy for this game tonight," said Hartnett.
The fire and energy they found allowed the Streaks to take a 49-25 lead into the break. Kyle Hubbard led the Blue Streaks in the first half with nine points.
"Coach (Moran) always tells us that even if things start going well, we know we're going to hit a rough patch," explained senior Conor Sweeney. "We even knew that against Marietta, same thing happened, we just bounce back, fought through it."
John Carroll led by as many as 31 points before settling on the final 26-point margin.
Hartnett, who wore #50 tonight in honor of Matt Crozier, was 3-3 from the land of three during the second half. Corey Shontz and Hubbard joined Hartnett as the leading scorers tonight for the Blue Streaks -- all with 14 points. mark hester added 13 markers and a game- and career-high 15 rebounds.
Heidelberg was led by 16 points from Victor Fortkamp and 15 points from Dane Givner, while Nate Davis added 13 points and 11 boards.
With their record now sitting at 12-3 overall, John Carroll remains tied for first with Capital (both at 7-2) in the Ohio Athletic Conference, which sets up a showdown with sole possession of first place on the line Saturday in Bexley.